WORKING WITH A LEGEND
One of the things that makes Lesnar unique among young fighters is his desire to turn his weaknesses into strengths. To prepare for Carwin, Lesnar took the unusual step of inviting a previous foe to his camp: former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, the man Lesnar defeated in November 2008 to capture the title in the first place. Lesnar saw holes in his game that Couture exploited during their fight, and he wanted Couture’s wisdom to help him fix those flaws.
“Just having Randy in the training facility was good. All the guys I train with were excited to have him. He just brings a different thing in,” Lesnar says. “He brings a lot to the table. He’s great with game plans and great with workouts. I mean, the guy just turned 47 years old. Come on. I was in my tenth week of camp and he comes in there the first week, and he’s just remarkable.”
“That’s why I brought him in and why we timed it the way we did. I needed something to take me over the edge in the confidence area, you know? He and I will never cross paths again and we’ll never fight again,” Lesnar says. “So for him to come in and tell me ‘this is what you do well and this is what you can do better, and here are the key things you’re going to need in order to beat Shane,” that’s a great thing for me.”
Carwin’s most likely path to victory over Lesnar will be his devastating knockout power and the kind of punches that felled Gabriel Gonzaga and Mir. We don’t know if Lesnar has a strong chin because we’ve never seen him get drilled with a solid shot, and Lesnar says he’s worked specifically to avoid that kind of scenario.
“He’s only going to test my chin if he gets me with a solid shot, and we’ve worked to avoid those kinds of things,” Lesnar says with a laugh. “I mean, come on.”
Lesnar has overcome plenty in the past year since his last fight. Few would have faulted him for hanging up the gloves, for choosing an easy life filled with deer hunting and the family moments he so cherishes. But the drive to compete that fuels all top-level athletes wouldn’t let him take the easy route, and Lesnar says there really was no other option.
“It’s one of those things where you just do it. I could have hung it up and said it was going to be too hard, but I’m not that guy,” Lesnar says. “It was a challenge for me. I overcame it and I’ve got a title defense. These things are exciting to me. I’m not the kind of guy that just gives up. If this thing is going to stop, I want it to be on my terms. I just don’t see Shane Carwin being the guy that is going to stop this freight train.”
“I’m just looking forward to going in there and having fun.”