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Brock Lesnar –
It’s the mantra of every parent as they tell his or her child, “You can be anything you want to be as long as you
work hard.” Most ignore the advice, or hit a few potholes and opt for the safer and more secure 9 to 5 grind. But Brock Lesnar seems to have taken that advice literally, jumping from an NCAA National Championship to pro wrestling to the NFL and now, to mixed martial arts over the course of 31 pretty interesting years.
“You only live once,” he told UFC.com with a chuckle on Monday. “In my mind, I think I’m a good enough athlete that I could do just about anything, and I always had a lot of confidence. But young kids today need to remember that, that when you work hard and stay on track, good things usually come. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you keep your nose to the grindstone, hopefully good things happen.”
And plenty of good things have happened for Lesnar since he entered the UFC earlier this year, most notably, this Saturday night’s title shot against heavyweight champ Randy Couture in the main event of UFC 91. It’s a fight being dubbed the biggest fight in the organization’s history, and much of that is due to the intrigue surrounding Lesnar, who has traveled at breakneck speed in the sport since his pro debut in 2007. Ironically though, the biggest lesson the former University of Minnesota standout has learned is to slow down.
“The biggest transition was to learn to be patient – in the gym and in the Octagon, but mostly in the gym,” he said. “You can’t learn this art overnight, and here it is, going on three years for me, and I still don’t know everything and there’s a lot more to learn. I’m just trying to come in Saturday night and be as prepared as I can possibly be for Randy, and I think we did that this last eight, nine weeks. As of right now I can’t change anything. The hay’s in the barn, and I’m just trying to relax and shed a few pounds this week, and come in Saturday night looking for a fight.”
For many observers, the idea of Lesnar entering the Octagon with only three pro fights to face a UFC Hall of Famer like Couture is an outrageous notion. But given his college wrestling pedigree, his physical tools, and his size, how can anyone count him out on fight night? But what may be the true barometer of his chances this weekend could be seen in his August win over perennial heavyweight contender Heath Herring, who Lesnar dominated over three rounds. Not only was the end result impressive, but let’s look at two other points from the UFC 87 bout. First, if Lesnar lost, that would have put him at 0-2 in the UFC and left him with a questionable future at best. So he knows how to deal with the pressure of a must-win situation. Second, he went three rounds with a legitimate heavyweight and barely broke a sweat, leaving him in good stead for what could be a 25 minute fight with the battle-tested Couture. Just don’t ask Lesnar if it was a good thing to get that type of work in.
“I didn’t set any goals to take Heath three rounds,” he said. “We tried to end it early and we almost did (Laughs), but Heath was a tough SOB, and in a fight, whatever happens happens. It’s 25 minutes for this fight and we’ll take ‘em.”
Yet despite his desire to clock out early, Lesnar isn’t rattled by the prospect of a 25 minute fight. In fact, he’s prepared for every possibility thanks to an intense training camp as well as exhaustive tape watching and research.
“I’ve watched every single one of his fights, and I feel we’ve got a good gameplan put together, a good philosophy, and we’ve got 25 minutes to do it,” said Lesnar.
And if the 6-3 ½, 265 pounder seems to be almost too calm before the biggest fight of his life, just consider that he’s gone from a life that had him on the road two to three hundred times a year, getting body slammed, rammed into turnbuckles, and hit with folding chairs. Now, the work in the gym is exhausting, but he gets to do it close to home in Minnesota, with only three to four trips out of town per year to fight. It’s been a life-altering change for the former WWE superstar.
“I’m just relieved I’m doing something that I find myself very happy doing and I’m relieved that I can be home and spend as much time with my daughter and my wife as I can, and do some of the things that I enjoy doing, like hunting and fishing,” he said. “There’s
more to life than just work, whether it’s wrestling or MMA. I’m not a gym rat. I come in here and put time in and when I leave the gym, I go do something else, whether it’s spending time with my family, or hunting or fishing or whatever. I’m at peace. I’m happy where my career is right now and where my life is right now.”
That’s not to say that the days in the pro wrestling ring didn’t give him some tools to help him in the MMA world.
“I’ve gotten benefits from being in front of the people and being in front of the media, and I know how to cope with different things because of that,” he admits, but for him, it’s not about the entertainment aspect of this or any other sport. It’s about the competition, and as he’s mentioned in the past, his life in the UFC is like one big NCAA tournament all over again. One question though – how do you top winning the UFC heavyweight championship?
“I’m still in the tournament after this,” laughs Lesnar. “This is only my third fight in the UFC. It just happens to be that if I win this one, I guess there’s some kinda belt that I get.”
It’s the mantra of every parent as they tell his or her child, “You can be anything you want to be as long as you
work hard.” Most ignore the advice, or hit a few potholes and opt for the safer and more secure 9 to 5 grind. But Brock Lesnar seems to have taken that advice literally, jumping from an NCAA National Championship to pro wrestling to the NFL and now, to mixed martial arts over the course of 31 pretty interesting years.
“You only live once,” he told UFC.com with a chuckle on Monday. “In my mind, I think I’m a good enough athlete that I could do just about anything, and I always had a lot of confidence. But young kids today need to remember that, that when you work hard and stay on track, good things usually come. It doesn’t happen overnight, but if you keep your nose to the grindstone, hopefully good things happen.”
And plenty of good things have happened for Lesnar since he entered the UFC earlier this year, most notably, this Saturday night’s title shot against heavyweight champ Randy Couture in the main event of UFC 91. It’s a fight being dubbed the biggest fight in the organization’s history, and much of that is due to the intrigue surrounding Lesnar, who has traveled at breakneck speed in the sport since his pro debut in 2007. Ironically though, the biggest lesson the former University of Minnesota standout has learned is to slow down.
“The biggest transition was to learn to be patient – in the gym and in the Octagon, but mostly in the gym,” he said. “You can’t learn this art overnight, and here it is, going on three years for me, and I still don’t know everything and there’s a lot more to learn. I’m just trying to come in Saturday night and be as prepared as I can possibly be for Randy, and I think we did that this last eight, nine weeks. As of right now I can’t change anything. The hay’s in the barn, and I’m just trying to relax and shed a few pounds this week, and come in Saturday night looking for a fight.”
For many observers, the idea of Lesnar entering the Octagon with only three pro fights to face a UFC Hall of Famer like Couture is an outrageous notion. But given his college wrestling pedigree, his physical tools, and his size, how can anyone count him out on fight night? But what may be the true barometer of his chances this weekend could be seen in his August win over perennial heavyweight contender Heath Herring, who Lesnar dominated over three rounds. Not only was the end result impressive, but let’s look at two other points from the UFC 87 bout. First, if Lesnar lost, that would have put him at 0-2 in the UFC and left him with a questionable future at best. So he knows how to deal with the pressure of a must-win situation. Second, he went three rounds with a legitimate heavyweight and barely broke a sweat, leaving him in good stead for what could be a 25 minute fight with the battle-tested Couture. Just don’t ask Lesnar if it was a good thing to get that type of work in.
“I didn’t set any goals to take Heath three rounds,” he said. “We tried to end it early and we almost did (Laughs), but Heath was a tough SOB, and in a fight, whatever happens happens. It’s 25 minutes for this fight and we’ll take ‘em.”
Yet despite his desire to clock out early, Lesnar isn’t rattled by the prospect of a 25 minute fight. In fact, he’s prepared for every possibility thanks to an intense training camp as well as exhaustive tape watching and research.
“I’ve watched every single one of his fights, and I feel we’ve got a good gameplan put together, a good philosophy, and we’ve got 25 minutes to do it,” said Lesnar.
And if the 6-3 ½, 265 pounder seems to be almost too calm before the biggest fight of his life, just consider that he’s gone from a life that had him on the road two to three hundred times a year, getting body slammed, rammed into turnbuckles, and hit with folding chairs. Now, the work in the gym is exhausting, but he gets to do it close to home in Minnesota, with only three to four trips out of town per year to fight. It’s been a life-altering change for the former WWE superstar.
“I’m just relieved I’m doing something that I find myself very happy doing and I’m relieved that I can be home and spend as much time with my daughter and my wife as I can, and do some of the things that I enjoy doing, like hunting and fishing,” he said. “There’s
more to life than just work, whether it’s wrestling or MMA. I’m not a gym rat. I come in here and put time in and when I leave the gym, I go do something else, whether it’s spending time with my family, or hunting or fishing or whatever. I’m at peace. I’m happy where my career is right now and where my life is right now.”
That’s not to say that the days in the pro wrestling ring didn’t give him some tools to help him in the MMA world.
“I’ve gotten benefits from being in front of the people and being in front of the media, and I know how to cope with different things because of that,” he admits, but for him, it’s not about the entertainment aspect of this or any other sport. It’s about the competition, and as he’s mentioned in the past, his life in the UFC is like one big NCAA tournament all over again. One question though – how do you top winning the UFC heavyweight championship?
“I’m still in the tournament after this,” laughs Lesnar. “This is only my third fight in the UFC. It just happens to be that if I win this one, I guess there’s some kinda belt that I get.”
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