LAS VEGAS - JULY 03: (L-R) Brock Lesnar holds down Shane Carwin in the second round during the UFC Heavyweight Championship Unification bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 3 2010 in Las Vegas Nevada. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Watch The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 if you want to know what Brock Lesnar is doing to help prepare his team of up-and-coming fighters as they compete for a "six-figure contract" and a one-way ticket into the UFC beginning this Wednesday night (March 30) on Spike TV.
As if it was some kind of secret.
Lesnar retired from amateur wrestling as a two-time NJCAA All-American, 1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion and 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Champion with an overall collegiate record of 106-5.
Those are layman's terms for "he's pretty freakin' good at wrestling."
Despite a record of just 5-2 in his short MMA career, the former WWE headliner also captured the UFC heavyweight title back in 2009 and knows a thing or two about the spotlight, including the pressure that comes with life in front of the camera.
And that's something he's growing more and more accustomed to according to the pasty-faced goliath on today's UFC media conference call (via Sherdog.com):
"I did enjoy [coaching The Ultimate Fighter 13]. I thought our guys did a tremendous job in believing in the system, and it took some time, but I was happy ... I brought my own coaching staff there: Marty Morgan, Erik Paulson, Greg Nelson, ‘Comprido’ [Rodigo Medeiros], Luke Richardson. I was surrounded with guys who have taken me to the top. Some of these guys came into the show with different areas that they were stronger in, and I was able to give them some more wrestling, if that was the case. Take Jon Jones, for instance. To be able to take a fight wherever you want is very powerful in this sport. I just look across the board and I see the wrestlers starting to take this sport to another level."
Wrestlers are indeed starting to take the sport to another level -- but can Brock take "Team Lesnar" to another level as head coach with a heavy emphasis on mat work?
Time will tell.
Following the conclusion of TUF 13, Lesnar will headline UFC 131 against opposing coach Junior dos Santos in the main event of the upcoming UFC 131 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card on June 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The only thing standing between Lesnar and a rematch with division champion Cain Velasquez is "Cigano," who risked his number one contender spot for a chance to pound on his pasty foe -- and get his piece of the Lesnar pay-per-view pie, which historically has made boku bucks for all involved.
The artist formerly known as the sport's "toughest S.O.B." is coming off a first round shellacking at the hands of Velasquez, who survived a beefy bumrush at UFC 121 to topple the former WWE star and capture the crown last October.
It was Lesnar's first loss inside the Octagon since serving up a ham-hock to Frank Mir in his Octagon debut at UFC 81 way back in February 2008. He avenged the Mir loss with a July 2009 bloodbath at UFC 100, battering the trash-talking grappler and forcing a first round TKO stoppage.
After a falling out with his lower intestine in 2009, ol' Sword 'N Chest clung to dear life while Shane Carwin beat him like a rented mule at UFC 116, only to come back and steal the submission win when "The Engineer" unveiled his Madame Tussaud-inspired defense.
Now Lesnar can avenge another loss and convince the MMA fanbase that his defeat at the hands of Velasquez was nothing more than a bump in the proverbial road.
But will he also prove he's a good coach by toppling "Team Dos Santos" on the Spike TV reality show? That remains to be seen.
How about it Maniacs, do you agree with Lesnar's assessment of wrestling and MMA? And can he be an effective mentor with just one skill set? Or is he better suited as an assistant coach?
Opinions, por favor.


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