UFC Quick Quote: Brock Lesnar thanks referee Josh Rosenthal after Shane Carwin win (original) (raw)

"He hit me pretty good, and I don't know, I ended up there on the ground. I just had to go into survival mode and stay busy. I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing to go on. I wasn't hurt. I thought if I just kept moving -- I could feel Shane's punches getting less and less -- and I thought, well, if I can get out of here then I'm just going to exert a lot energy. I realized there was [not a lot of time left], so I just tried to stay busy. He's a beast. He definitely won the first round [laughs]."

-- Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is quick to thank the "Man in Charge of the Octagon," Josh Rosenthal, shortly after his stunning second round submission win over Shane Carwin in the UFC 116 main event. Lesnar somehow survived a gorilla attack in the opening stanza, getting dropped and then completely overwhelmed with 5XL fists of fury for about four straight minutes. There were numerous times that Rosenthal could have stepped in, but didn't, giving Lesnar the benefit of the doubt and giving way to perhaps the most improbable come-from-behind finish in the history of the promotion. It wasn't the fact that Lesnar was able to rebound -- although that in and of itself was impressive -- but rather the way in which he did it. With his sheer size and strength, now coupled with a decent jiu-jitsu arsenal to go along with his already stellar ground game, is there anyone who can stop the Lesnar 'frate' train? Whoever it is might want to think about bringing a sledgehammer into the cage -- Carwin hit him with everything but the kitchen sink and he still hung in there. Would you have stopped it?

Check out a UFC 116 post-fight video with Lesnar after the jump, during which he talks more about the fight almost being stopped: