Western State College of Colorado

As the last fan and remnant of UFC 116 exited the MGM Grand on July 3rd two things were proven, The Ultimate Fighting Championship is now, forever, and always the upper echelon of mixed martial arts, and Brock Lesnar, like it or not is here to stay. The main event for UFC 116, Lesnar Vs Carwin had everything from (mild) trash talk, the ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ knock out potential, and two of the biggest men to ever pass through the Octagon door. Like last July, Brock Lesnar was set against one of the toughest heavyweights the UFC had to offer, the only difference being that Shane Carwin was as close to Brock in every way possible. As a Division I NCAA wrestling champion, Brock has a prowess unmatched by most, as well as a near super heavyweight stature. Carwin brought in a Division II NCAA wrestling pedigree as well as a matched weight, even coming in a bit heavier at the weigh-ins the day before. But as it now stands in the annals of history, Brock Lesnar is the proven and undisputed heavyweight champion, not only beating Carwin, but shocking the world with an arm triangle that no one saw coming (Brock apparently didn’t even know the name of said submission).

As far Carwin, he has accepted the fate of July 3rd and has proven to be a better man for it and despite the dents in his battle armor he remains a soldier to the sport and will once again prepare to enter the field of battle as soon as the UFC Generals call him back into he contraption known as the Octagon but for now he finds solace in a boat surrounded by family, friends, and the comfort of knowing he will get a chance to show why he was the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion…


Describe to me the last few days since your fight. These last few days I’ve been at home with my family just relaxing and not doing much. That’s about it.

Have you gone back and reviewed the footage? I haven’t watched it yet.

Why not? Well I guess I’m just trying to relax right now. It’s important for me to be with my family when I’m not fighting.

How long of a break do you intend to take before getting back into the gym? I’ll probably be back in the gym tomorrow. Nate Marquardt has a fight coming up so I want to get back in there and help him get ready as well as a few of these other fighters that have fights coming up. The only difference is that this time it won’t be so intense, I get to go in there and have fun and relax a little bit and learn some new techniques. It’ll be nice to not have to be so intense; I think this is where my learning curve increases.

Tell me about your body seizing up and what it was attributed to. Towards the end it felt like my body was shutting down. My legs starting seizing up and when I went into my corner after round one I told my coaches but I knew I had to answer the bell. I knew round two was going to be a tough round and I think it was attributed to lactic acid. By the time I got back to my locker-room I was almost hyperventilating and the doctors had to get my breathing under control.

How has the healing process been? I’m fine now, and I came out of the fight pretty much unscathed. Physically I’m pretty much healed and everything is ok; mentally I’ve accepted it because I went out there and did the best that I could and that’s all I can ask of myself. I’m not taking anything away from Brock because he survived that round and proved that he is a true champion and let’s face it, I put all my eggs in that basket trying to finish him in round one and that was a choice I made and came out and proved why he is the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Looking back there are some corrections I’d make but the things is that I wanted to test myself against the best in the world and did exactly that.

Describe to me the power of Brock Lesnar. We felt really similar and as matter of fact I felt stronger when I was on top and he felt stronger when he was on top. He was explosive with his shot but in the first round I felt just as explosive as him but I definitely felt faster.

Were you surprised you didn’t knock him out? I don’t think any of my punches ever really hit him cleanly. A lot hit his arm and it was a little too tight for my punches but only a couple landed pretty hard. I don’t think I was able to give him some of the best shots that I could’ve.

Did you feel the fight should’ve been stopped in the first round? Josh (Rosenthal) was right there the whole time saying ‘Brock show me something’ and of course that makes me want to rain down punches much more. I think maybe he did just enough to keep the fight going. If I could’ve landed a couple of more maybe he would’ve stopped it but it’s a fine line and I think Josh did a great job and I don’t really have an argument because Brock did come back and beat me and it is what it is. Now it’s all  about moving forward.

Did you feel pressure to silence him due to him calling you a non-threat? I don’t know that he really didn’t consider me a threat but Brock does talk a little bit to hype things up. I know Brock and his camp and they knew what I brought to the table and I think he had respect for me after the first round.

How do you remain so humble before, during, and after? My respect comes from being raised by a single mother and she never let us step out of line. I’ve been involved in youth sports my whole life and have always been respectful toward coaches. We’re all human beings and we should all have respect. You’re no different than I am aside from the fact that I like to fight and challenge myself in the cage. At the end of the day we’re all people you know?

What statement do you think you made overall in your performance? If I could’ve had four more rounds without my body shutting down I could’ve have won. The overall statement was that I’m a competitor at heart and I go out there and give 110% and maybe I gave a little too much in that first round and maybe I should’ve pulled back but I go in for the kill. I love to compete, I love the competition and I love MMA and I feel blessed to be a part of it.

Tell me about the arm triangle transition. I knew my body had nothing left and that as soon as he locked it up it be extremely hard for me to try to defend it. By the time I was backstage they put me on my back and tried to get my breathing under control. I knew I was in trouble once the second round started.

Does Cain Velasquez have a chance at beating Brock? Absolutely; Cain has great stand up and great wrestling. He also has a gas tank. I think it’ll be another great match. The UFC’s heavyweight division right now is the most exciting.

Where do you stand in title contention? I really haven’t thought about it and besides that’s up to the UFC but I imagine after a couple of wins I should be right back there again.

Aside from the obvious loss, are there any regrets? I don’t think I have any regrets. You live and you learn and I’ll come back. The most important thing is that he and I are both healthy and able to compete. Now I can enjoy some family time.