Jul-9-2009
Lesnar Keeps it Simple – Train, Fight, Win
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Death Clutch Brock Lesnar UFC 91 Fight Shorts
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By Thomas Gerbasi
Brock Lesnar is as straight a shooter as they come. Ask him a question and you’ll get an honest answer, whether you like it or not. So when you discuss the Minnesotan’s title-winning effort against Randy Couture last November, or more specifically his instant request after the fight to take on the lone man to beat him – Frank Mir – he doesn’t skip a beat in responding.
“Nobody likes to lose, and I’m a sore loser, especially when I feel I gave the (first) fight to him.”
In that first fight, at UFC 81 in February of 2008, Lesnar seemed to have everything going his way before receiving a point deduction from referee Steve Mazzagatti for a blow to the back of the head and then getting caught in a kneebar from Mir that ended the bout at the 1:30 mark of the first round. On Saturday, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Lesnar gets the rematch he asked for in the main event of UFC 100. Some fighters wouldn’t be too eager to be chasing down an old conqueror, at least not immediately. Lesnar isn’t built like those guys.
“I just think it’s pure competition,” he said. “Throughout my wrestling career in college, I didn’t lose too often. But the guys I did lose to, I’ve always been able to come back except for one guy I never had the opportunity to get a rematch with – Stephen Neal. But the other guys I’ve had opportunities to come back and beat, so I’ve been in this position and I don’t see it going any other way really.”
If Lesnar sounds confident, he’s got good reason to be. After the loss to Mir in his UFC debut (which was just his second pro fight), Lesnar scored a three round shutout win over perennial heavyweight contender Heath Herring, and then stopped Hall of Famer Randy Couture in the second round to win the UFC heavyweight title. He’s also slowed down the frenetic attack he unleashed in the Mir fight as he’s gotten more in tune with the world of MMA.
“I think I’ve showed some maturity in the Octagon since the first Mir fight,” he agreed. “Against Heath and Randy I showed a lot more patience, but it still only takes one punch. I don’t know when it’s gonna happen – we’ve got five rounds to solidify this fight and I might have jumped the gun against Frank the first time – I know I did – but there are times for aggression and times to pull the reins. That comes with experience, and I think I’ve got that now. The first time, Frank was fighting a street brawler / wrestler. The big difference now is that Frank’s fighting a fighter. I’ve had almost two years of experience under my belt and got in the Octagon with a legend like Randy Couture and another guy who’s had over 50 fights and has been very successful, so it hasn’t been a walk in the park.”
It hasn’t, but by the same token, Lesnar’s rise has been almost unprecedented, equaled in the UFC only by Couture – who also won the heavyweight title in his fourth fight. But that was back in 1997, when fighters weren’t nearly as dynamic and athletic as they are today. In the 2009 Octagon, to get as far as Lesnar has in slightly over two years as a pro just doesn’t happen. And you would imagine that it would be pretty overwhelming to have to learn your craft on the job when Heath Herring, Randy Couture, or Frank Mir are the guys looking to knock you out, beat you up, or take a limb home with them.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Lesnar. “But I think I’ve handled it quite well and I think I’m doing just fine. I never think about it too hard because your mind starts racing and you use a lot of energy – I just think about the guy that’s put in front of me.”
There’s been plenty for Lesnar to think about when it comes to Mir, whether it’s the Las Vegan’s submission attack, his improved standup game, or the subtle (and not so subtle) jabs he’s been poking the Minnesotan with. It’s been a marked change from the moments and days after UFC 81, when all was cordial between the two big men.
“I remember back to right after the fight at the press conference, when Frank basically said that he got lucky,” said Lesnar. “He said he was drowning in punches and reached out and I gave him a leg.”
That line of thinking has changed considerably in the lead up to the fight, one that may not have been taking place if not for Mir’s stirring win over Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira last December. The emotional victory was made even more newsworthy by the fact that Mir became the first person to ever knock the seemingly indestructible Nogueira out. And even though Lesnar was rooting for Mir to win so he could get his rematch, he wasn’t particularly impressed with his performance.
“I think I was more in shock that the fight ended the way it did,” said Lesnar. “I wasn’t merely impressed just with Mir’s standup. When a guy stands in front of you and he’s not himself and not doing what he typically does, there’s more shock in that for me.”
“I watched that fight a hundred times and I look at Frank and everything he does just seems real robotic to me,” Lesnar continues. “I felt really bad for Nogueira in that fight. I saw a guy that with so much more potential…”
He pauses.
“I don’t know…Frank’s day is coming and it’ll be here soon enough.”
And should Lesnar get his revenge on Mir this Saturday, it will solidify his place in what has always been combat sports’ glamour division – the heavyweights. But while boxing’s heavyweight champions are bland and faceless at best, Lesnar has the charisma, power, and presence that can capture the world’s imagination like the big men of the past – this time though it will be in mixed martial arts.
“The sport is growing and it’s becoming more visible – which is good – and heavyweights have always been the guys people want to watch,” he said. “(Muhammad) Ali, (George) Foreman, (Mike) Tyson, the heavyweights are the guys that sell the tickets. I think I follow through on every fight too, and I think that’s what make people want to watch. There’s a 275-pound guy out there that has a huge hurdle in front of him - is he gonna make it through it? There’s a lot of drama in that.”
Plus, if he can have a dominating reign, that adds even more to the mystique of being a champion, something Lesnar can definitely get used to.
“Having the belt means that on that day and that night, I’m the best,” he said. “It’s one of those things – it’s a title, not only physically but it’s a title to have in this sport that says that I’m the champion. And everybody wants a champion.”
And just think, a year and a half ago, many were wondering whether Lesnar was going to be one and done in the UFC after losing his debut to Mir. Now, the talk has people wondering whether he can be one of the greats of the division. That’s a pretty impressive change in a little over 18 months. Lesnar agrees.
“If I had to put it in a sentence, it’s probably been the best year and a half of my life,” he said. “Not just because of fighting for a great company and that things are going well, but because I’ve had a lot of good things happen to me personally. My wife, my daughter, my son, my family, business has been good, so it’s been a good year and a half inside and outside the Octagon, and I pray to God every day that good things continue. It’s pretty simple out here for me and I like it that way.”
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