Heavy.com has a running live blog of today’s UFC 116 conference call with Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. Stay tuned to this page and refresh for constant updates.
12:58pm: We’re waiting for the conference call to start. UFC calls typically begin on time, so I’m setting the over/under at 5 minutes late for this one. Strikeforce BARELY beat the number (15 minutes) with their Fedor call last week.
1:06: If you took the over, give yourself a pat on the back. I don’t think it’ll be too much longer, although they are dealing with Brock Lesnar, and when you’re dealing with Brock Lesnar there’s always a chance that you have to find him in the forest before you can get him to do anything.
1:13: This is nearing Strikeforce levels for tardiness. They’re still “admitting additional participants,” which is code for “we can’t find Brock or Shane.”
1:14: Here we go.
1:16: Shane says he’s not turning media down, he just wants media to go through the UFC and not call him directly. He wants to focus on training.
1:21: Brock says he didn’t even know Fedor is fighting this Saturday.
1:17: Brock says he has no animosity towards Shane, but he’s just another opponent that he has to go through.
1:19: Brock has been training since January, ever since he got the go-ahead from the Mayo Clinic. He waited until the very last minute before pulling out of the original fight in October. He didn’t know if he was ever going to fight again, so this has brought a lot of life into him and his training camp. He says the setback was a good thing because it allowed him to sit back and focus on his diet and the way he trains. He has a new strength coach and a new boxing coach.
1:21: Brock lost 42 pounds in the hospital. He realized that there is nothing more important than his family, and said he found out who his friends really were. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to fight again because he’d lost so much weight and thought he was going to have to have surgery. Says he feels like a cat with nine lives.
1:23: Brock changed coaches in his camp because he wanted to evolve and get better.
1:24: Shane says he has a lot of areas in his game where he’s barely scratching the surface and believes he can become a much better fighter.
1:26: Brock says his camp is full of big guys, so preparing for another big man isn’t a problem. He says Shane is better looking than he is, but that’s about it.
1:27: Brock loves the Octagon because it’s one of the few places in the world where you can go in and lay it all on the line. Says he’s very humbled that he’s been given a second chance at life and at the fight game.
1:28: Brock talks about Dave Batista. He says “get in line. Everybody and their dog wants to be a fighter. Next question. We’re talking about the World Heavyweight Championship, not some wannabe.”
1:29: Carwin denies that Randy Couture brought him in to prepare for the Lesnar fight.
1:30: Brock says Randy is a once in a lifetime fighter and there’s nobody else like him. Says he learned a lot from Randy last week, a lot of the tricks of the trade that he hadn’t picked up from anyone else.
1:32: Brock says it’s hard to say what he would have chosen (WWE or UFC) if the UFC had been as popular when he came out of college as it is today. He’s happy with his life and happy with his choices and doesn’t want to live in the past.
1:33: I’ve heard Brock laugh more on this single phone call than I have at any point else in my time covering this business.
1:33: Shane says that if he touches anybody with his gloves, he can knock them out. Brock said the fight could go anywhere and believes it’s going to be exciting no matter where it ends up because both guys have a lot of power and explosiveness. He says Shane poses some different threats than what he’s faced in the past, but he’s evolving as a fighter every single day.
1:35: Brock says he’s not going to have to cut any weight this time. He’s 265 pounds right now. That would be roughly 25 pounds smaller than he usually is.
1:38: Shane says every fight is the biggest of his career, and this one is no different. He’s approaching it just like he would every other fight. Brock says he’s just excited to be back in the cage and doesn’t give a damn who it’s against.
1:41: Shane says he’s not surprised that Brock is coming in much lighter than normal. He believes that the extra weight they carry around isn’t all that important and he’ll come into fight day at about the same size, with only a bit of water weight to cut.
1:43: Brock says he’s got a lot of confidence in his wrestling and his Division 1 national championship proves that he’s well-prepared.
1:44: Brock says that Shane was able to work on his craft when he started, where he was thrown to the wolves in his first few fights. Says he doesn’t get nervous, and he’s just excited to be in there again.
1:47: Shane says he doesn’t know how big his fists actually are and says it’s an odd thing for him to be known for.
1:48: Oh boy, we’ve got a Fedor question for Brock. Shane says it’s unfortunate that he didn’t join the UFC, but he’s not concerned with Fedor and is only concerned with Brock. Brock says good for Fedor. He hopes Fedor does retire because then he’ll continue being the greatest of all time…in his own little world. Does he think he can beat Fedor? “Absolutely. I can beat any man.”
1:52: Brock says the main thing he took from WWE is that he’s promoting a big fight, so it’s still sports and entertainment. The only difference is that the UFC is real and WWE isn’t. Says that he’s been in tons of PPV main events and that those events prepared him for the limelight that he’s in today. Says it doesn’t matter if people are booing or cheering him, as long as they are doing something. The worst thing you can hear are crickets.
1:55: Brock says Shane has knockout power, so he has trained to avoid that power, and he also has great wrestling. He’s a credible fighter. Brock is being very complimentary of Shane today.
1:56: Brock says he doesn’t want to be Randy when he’s 45 years old, but he has to take his hat off to Couture for still being able to do what he does at that age.
1:57: Brock says he can’t eat his Fruity Pebbles at night any more.
1:58: Brock says he hasn’t changed his mind on the media. “I still dislike all of you,” he deadpans. He says he’s in a great mood because it’s a good day, he gets to go home and be with his family, the fight is almost here and he’s healthy. “It’s just a good day to be alive,” he says.
2:01: Brock says he believes his credentials outweigh Shane’s and that Shane probably believes the same thing, but that his own hand will be raised on July 3rd.
And that’s all for today’s conference call.
