Brock Lesnar: Challenger Cain Velasquez no tougher than anybody else
It’s the custom of some fighters to hype up their opponent before a fight, and tell the world they’re the toughest fighter they’ve faced yet. But not Brock Lesnar.
At the Ultimate Fighting Championships’ UFC 121 pre-fight press conference, Lesnar was asked that question about the challenger to his UFC heavyweight belt, Cain Velasquez. His answer was first a simple
“no.” Then he expanded a bit.
“I think they’re all the same. This is the UFC. Everybody’s tough.”
The UFC held their conference for UFC 121 on Wednesday at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California. UFC president Dana White seemed unfazed by the possibility that Lesnar, who has been the
biggest draw in UFC pay per view numbers, could lose his title to the lesser-known Velasquez.
“The best fighters in the world come in and fight, and the winner wins. It’s the fight business,” said White.
Lesnar has never gone a full five rounds in a title fight and many have questioned his conditioning as compared to that of his opponent, Velasquez.
When asked to compare the conditioning of the two, Lesnar replied, “That’s the only thing I ever hear about him, you know, Cain Velasquez’s conditioning. I come from the University of Minnesota, former
NCAA (wrestling) champion. You gotta be in great condition, you gotta be prepared to go 25 minutes.”
Velasquez seemed to suggest a war of attrition was what his gameplan called for.
“I’m expecting a five round fight. I’m expecting to go everywhere, on the feet, on the ground, but I’m expecting to go the full fight,” said Velasquez, who although seen as a cardio machine, like Lesnar
has never been in a fight longer than three rounds.
Velasquez has been heavily promoted by the UFC as having the potential of being the first Mexican heavyweight champion, despite the fact English is his first language, and he was born in Northern California
to Mexican parents, and that Ricco Rodriguez, who was also ethnically Mexican but American-born, also held the belt.
But White said the UFC was trying very hard to gain traction in boxing-mad Mexico. “What we haven’t done is done a show in Mexico yet and we’re working on that right now. What we like to do is get in a
market, we get on television and then we go in there and put on a live event. It’s been a little tough to get that going in Mexico.”
Shields not looking past Kampmann
A large number of UFC pundits and fans seem to think that Jake Shields will defeat Martin Kampmann in the co-main event and then move on to fight Georges St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight title.
Shields claimed he is focused only on Kampmann, “Of course I would love to get a title shot, but I’m not looking past Martin at all,” said Shields.
For his part, Kampmann said he would deal with Shields “just like any other guy. I’m gonna beat him up…he’s just another guy in front of me.
White was asked if a win over Shields would propel Kampmann to a title shot. White’s response seemed to avoid the question.
“He (Shields) just beat Dan Henderson he should get the (title) shot just for that…but timing and coming into the UFC, it is what it is,” said White.
When asked the question a second time, White conceded, “It puts Kampmann back in the mix, it’s a big win for him.”
Shields, a vegetarian, was asked if he had spoke to Lesnar about the joys of that lifestyle. Lesnar, an avid hunter, provided some laughs by asking, “Where’s the beef?”
UFC 121 will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday night.
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