Brock Lesnar is gifted athlete. His credentials speak for him. He's a former NCAA amateur wrestling champion, professional wrestling Heavyweight champion in WWE and came up just shy of making a spot on the Minnesota Vikings NFL football team. With mixed-martial arts taking off and becoming a viable option to Lesnar as a way of earning a living, Lesnar no longer has to consider returning to the insane traveling schedule that comes along with being a professional wrestler. It's an avenue to take the wrestling skills he's accumulated across nearly twenty years and further it into a career in combat sports.
On Saturday, June 2nd at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, Brock Lesnar will do his part to help try and pack a building that seats nearly 100,000 people as he makes his debut as a MMA fighter. He'll be clashing with the 7'2'' kickboxer Hong Man-Choi in the semi-main event of the K-1 debut MMA show in the United States, which now has backing from Elite XC (and Showtime), Strikeforce and Cage Rage.
Late last-week, MMANews.com's own Luis Cruz discussed this and more in an exclusive twenty-plus minute interview with Brock Lesnar. Below is part two of a two-part transcript. Thanks to “The Sundance Kid” from the MMANews.com forums for providing the following text write-up of part one. To read the write-up of the first part of the interview, click here.
BROCK LESNAR INTERVIEW – PART TWO
MMANews.com: The UFC, PRIDE – either or, are you looking to fight for them sometime in the future, maybe when you're established?
Brock Lesnar: You know, I'm just focusing on this one fight. I've been happy with K-1, they've been great to work with, and I'm not speculating or starting anything in that area yet, you know? I'm just focused on this one fight. But I have spoken to those guys in the past.
MMANews.com: That's why I was asking.
Brock Lesnar: As of right now, no. I haven't conversed with anybody and I don't intend to until this fight is over with, or at least until a good time after that.
MMANews.com: Speaking of the UFC, let's say you did sign with them in the future. Can you make the 265 pound weight limit?
Brock Lesnar: Actually, I finished my workout today at 268.
MMANews.com: Oh wow, ok. So you trimmed down a lot.
Brock Lesnar: I'm lean and mean, baby!
MMANews.com: [Laughs] Now, what is your goal weight? Do you have a goal weight?
Brock Lesnar: I feel good. I'll come into this fight 270, you know, 265 ain't a problem. I feel good where I'm at. This is where I won my national title, at this weight, and I feel really confident at this weight.
MMANews.com: Alright, I thought you'd be a little bigger, but that's good. Now let's talk about your opponent – seven foot, two inch Hong-Man Choi. This is only his second MMA fight actually, in his career, and I don't think his first fight even lasted thirty seconds – if I remember correctly. Now, aside from him being almost a foot taller than you, what do you know about him?
Brock Lesnar: I know that, well, there's really not a lot to know about him. I mean, he's kickboxer. I've studied his tapes and I know that he's not the athlete I am – let's just put it that way.
MMANews.com: Is there anything at all that concerns you about him, like one specific thing?
Brock Lesnar: Um… well, everybody's as good as that one punch that connects, right? You know that, you've watched enough fights to. So, of course he's a threat – he's a big dude. Anybody that can throw big hands and land them is a threat, you know? So I've just got to avoid his hands.
Brock Lesnar makes his MMA fighting debut for K-1 on June 2 in Los Angeles …
MMANews.com: Now I’m just taking a wild guess here, but I assume you can take a pretty good punch. I mean, you fell on your head that one WrestleMania, and you’re a big guy, so your tough. You have already shown that.
Brock Lesnar: Well, I would like to assume so. You know, we got a fight coming up June 2nd and we will see what happens. I’m real confident in myself, but anything can happen.
MMANews.com: How do you see the fight (with Hong-Man Choi) ending? Do you think you can stop him? Maybe a little ground and pound?
Brock Lesnar: I’m not going to make any predictions. I’m just gonna go out there and try to win this fight.
MMANews.com: Alright, let’s say you come out with the win, how soon would you like to fight again? How active do you want to be in MMA?
Brock Lesnar: Well this is all really premature, I mean I really got to stick with my philosophy that I’ve been successful with and that is one match at a time. I honestly and truthfully haven’t really given it all that much thought. As soon as you start looking past somebody that’s when somebody knocks your ass out.
MMANews.com: [laughs] I totally understand. I have to bring up your counter-part here, a lot of people are comparing you to Kurt Angle. He has been preaching a whole lot about wanting to fight in MMA, but up until this point it hasn’t been. I mean up until this point you’ve been pretty quiet actually, and you’re just doing it. He’s been talking a lot but he’s not actually doing anything. Do you realistically think that he wants to fight?
Brock Lesnar: I can’t speak on behalf of Kurt Angle, but I mean he is a legitimate gold medalist and I think that if he really had it in his heart to be a fighter, he could. I will say this: if he wants to get in it, he might as well just shut his mouth and do it. Otherwise keep his yapper shut.
MMANews.com: [laughs] Yeah, that’s what pretty much everyone is saying. Now I know you don’t want to look past this fight, but if he does enter you guys could make a lot of money fighting each other. Would you like to do that fight?
Brock Lesnar: I’d like to fight Kurt, but I think deep down inside he is scared of me, I really do. I really think that he knows in his heart and soul that he would lose to me, and he’s not willing to take that step.
MMANews.com: Real quick, did you guys ever mess around, like wrestle in the back before an event or anything?
Brock Lesnar: Yes, he wouldn’t mess with me anymore. I pinned him all the time.
MMANews.com: Wow, really? Now you did amateur wrestling, professional wrestling, you tried out for the NFL, now your doing mixed-martial arts. And your still very young, is there anything else that you wanted to do before you call it a career?
Brock Lesnar: Yeah, I’d like to bungee jump. [laughs]
MMANews.com: [laugh] You better get a strong bungee. Alright Brock before I let you go is there anything that you want to add, is there anything that you want to say to your fans, probably mostly professional wrestling fans that are following you to MMA?
Brock Lesnar: I highly doubt it. I think there is some curiosity out there, and I appreciate that. I appreciate everybody in all their support, and watching me as a professional wrestler, as a football player and now as a mixed-martial artist. Follow me June 2nd and it’s going to be a fun ride. I’m looking forward to it.
MMANews.com: Okay. Most likely I will see you down there, I should be there covering the event so I look forward to meeting you. And I want to wish you the best of luck in your first fight, and in the future. Thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to us.
Brock Lesnar: Hey, not a problem, Thank you very much.
MMANews.com: Take care, Brock.
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Want to contact Luis Cruz regarding the above interview? Click here to do so directly with him in the public eye of our MMA forums, or e-mail him privately at cruzinus@hotmail.com.
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