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[Gr8_White_Rabbit]

Aug-4-2008
By Thomas Gerbasi

Over six months have passed since Brock Lesnar’s UFC debut against Frank Mir, and little has changed. Oh, there are the physical and mental changes to his game as he looks to rebound from his first mixed martial arts loss by beating Heath Herring this Saturday in Minnesota, but when it comes to the attention he is getting for fight number three of his career, if anything, the former WWE star is bigger than ever.

“I’m looking over my schedule between now and fight night, and I’m like ‘holy #$%$, who booked all this?’” laughed Lesnar last Wednesday. “But seriously, I’ve been doing this for a while. As far as the fighting goes, I’m new at it, but as far as the business side goes, I’ve been doing it for a while, and for me, it’s part of the job, and I came to understand that a long time ago.”

But why is there such a fascination with a heavyweight who is still learning the game, has a .500 record, and has yet to win in the Octagon? Well, let’s start with the Mir fight, a gutsy move if there ever was one, as Lesnar took on a former heavyweight champ in his first UFC bout. And just seven seconds in, it looked like all the pre-fight hype around Lesnar was going to be justified as he took Mir to the canvas and began to open fire. But just as soon as the assault began, it was halted due to a point deduction from referee Steve Mazzagatti for an inadvertent blow to the back of the head. To most, it seemed like a hasty call, especially since a warning before the deduction wasn’t audible on the television broadcast, and Lesnar’s momentum was admittedly thrown off.

When the action resumed, Lesnar scored with a right hand, putting Mir back on the mat. But in his haste to finish the fight, Lesnar was caught in a kneebar, and though he won the first 1:20 of the fight, the last ten seconds and the victory went to Mir.

“I’m still disgusted with myself,” said Lesnar. “I got so excited, then for Mazzagatti to stop the fight kinda threw a monkey wrench into my rhythm a little bit, and then you can chalk it up to a little bit of inexperience. I had Frank on the mat and then I stood up, which was pretty foolish of me. I think Frank will be the first one to admit that I had him up against the ropes and I think he was scared s**tless. He was reaching at anything out there and he grabbed it and he got me. But that’s the beauty of mixed martial arts.”

And in the process, Lesnar may have learned a painful lesson about the game at the elite level, but he also made some believers out of the skeptics, even though shutting mouths is merely a fringe benefit at this point.

“I’m not here to shut people’s mouths,” he explains. “I’m in a spot where there might be the toughest son of a bitch out there, but nobody knows his name and he’s climbing the ranks, and here you’ve got a guy like myself who is a household name all across the world. From the business side of things, I’ve got to make the right business decisions and at the same time on the fighting side of things, I don’t want any tomato cans either.”

That may be the biggest reason to respect Lesnar – he came into the UFC with a lot of bluster, claiming that he wanted to fight the best right away, and when UFC President Dana White gave him Mir, the former NCAA Division I wrestling champion didn’t bat an eye. And for fight number two, he wasn’t given any favors either with perennial contender Heath Herring, and again, Lesnar welcomes the challenge of taking on a level of fighter no prospect with two fights to his name has ever walked in there with. But at the same time, Herring did have a rough time the last time he took on a Division I level wrestler, as he lost his UFC debut in January of 2007 to Jake O’Brien. It’s a tape Lesnar has studied.

“I definitely watched the Jake O’Brien fight and it came to my mind right away (when the fight was announced), but I think every fighter’s either going to improve their game or lose their game after every fight,” he said. “Heath has had some battles getting into the Octagon and proving himself, but I think I’m going to get the best Heath Herring come August 9th. Heath has got a lot to lose in this fight too, so I think there’s a lot on the line for the both of us.”

In theory yes, but in reality, Lesnar is the man on the hot seat this Saturday in his hometown. If he loses, he’s 0-2 in the Octagon and 1-2 overall, and his next fight may be a step down from his current featured bout status. But all reports from the gym indicate that
he has continued to put in the long hours to refine his game, and as far as he’s concerned, he’s found his niche in mixed martial arts, and he’s not about to give it up anytime soon. That attitude has won him fans in and out of the gym.

“I’m greatly appreciative of it,” he said of the respect he’s starting to get from those in the fight game. “I think people get their guard up right away when somebody wants to jump into something when they’re not 100 percent serious about it, and I think people understand that I am. At least the people at my gym and in my training camp do. I think that filters through in the interviews that I do – this is my life and it’s taken a while for me to figure out what I wanted to do with myself. Everybody’s going to have their opinion, but as long as I keep my nose to the grindstone, everything will work out. But more importantly, everybody wants to see a winner, and I want to win this fight - not to prove anything to anybody else, but to prove to myself that I’m capable of being in the Octagon.”

Add in Lesnar’s ability to stay close to home – a stark contrast to his pro wrestling days, when 200-300 nights on the road wasn’t out of the ordinary - and this is an athlete who has finally found peace in the midst of combat.

“Lifestyle wise, this has been great for me to be home every night in my own bed and to be near my family as often as I can,” said Lesnar, who is married with a six year old daughter. “That’s been huge for me. Everything in life nowadays is so material, so for me to be able to be home and be happy is the number one key for me. All the other stuff is really meaningless. We enjoy doing what we do and most people who have the right job enjoy going to work, but the car I’m driving, the clothes I’m wearing, that’s all materialistic stuff and it’s all fake. In the end, we’ve got to answer to one person and look ourselves in the mirror every day.”

So it goes without saying that Brock Lesnar’s happy where he is right now in life, but at work, he’s restless, and that’s a good thing for him and a scary prospect for his opponents. He wants to win now and move closer to a shot at the UFC heavyweight title, and in a division getting more interesting by the day thanks to rising stars like himself, Cain Velasquez, and Shane Carwin, there’s no room for losing.

“I think the division is getting stronger everyday and I think that’s the company wanted,” said Lesnar. “But everybody’s got to do their part, and I’m looking to do mine August 9th.”

Link

Glad to see that he is really humble so far. No excuses, gotta love that. I am really pulling for Brock to get some buzz back in the HW division.

[captonion]

Originally Posted by Gr8_White_Rabbit

Link

Glad to see that he is really humble so far. No excuses, gotta love that. I am really pulling for Brock to get some buzz back in the HW division.

AGREE

Brock is an all around nice guy,and I would really like to see the guy have a future in MMA.

[POINDEXTER]

I'd like to see him improve. He's got major potential. He definitely needs to win this fight.

[Dimson]

Originally Posted by POINDEXTER

I'd like to see him improve. He's got major potential. He definitely needs to win this fight.

I think he should be fighting Kongo, not Herring. But I know why they picked him, because of how O'Brien schooled him on the ground for 3 rounds.

[Oats420]

Originally Posted by Gr8_White_Rabbit

Glad to see that he is really humble so far. No excuses, gotta love that. I am really pulling for Brock to get some buzz back in the HW division.

Yeah, i'm glad to see that too. It makes me have more respect for the guy.

And I agree with the getting some buzz back in a buzz-less UFC HW division.

[CanaanCreed]

I'm not sure if he's in the hot-seat just yet. If he puts on a good fight and loses, he's still a viable property. He's a draw and he's fought guys with way more experience (in the UFC). As long as he pulls in strong ppv buyrates, he's got a job. EliteXC would swipe him up in a millisecond.

I'm rooting for the guy, although Herring will be a handful for him.

[MayhemFuture]

it would be great to see lesnar do well. he showed a lot of promise in that first match. just a rookie mistake allowing himself to get caught. hopefully with the time he's had he's picked up some submission defense.

how crazy would it be if he pulled a submission of his own? haha

[TheRedeemer]

If Lesnar can take a hit, he should be able to beat Herring rather easily. Herring is horrible on the ground, and thats where Lesnar wants to go. But I will see this saturday.

[scolli7]

This guy has a ton of potential, and i believe he could be wearing the belt in 3-4 years.

I really want to see him do well in the UFC; just not against my boy HH.

Herring via the high kick he used on Kerr.

War HH!

[jrube]

I think this fight will be over when Brock gets Herring on the ground, and he will pound him out before the 2nd round is over....

I just hope they keep Herring in the UFC... Love the guy honestly, always fun to watch fight.