Maxim has a fantastic interview with UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar, ever the quotable superstar, has plenty of moments in one of the lengthiest interviews I’ve seen him do since leaving World Wrestling Entertainment.
A few choice nuggets:
On the infamous ESPN E:60 interview:
“My interview was over,” he says. “And then all of a sudden, ‘Oh, wait, we’ve got a few more questions. Then they ask me about steroids. I’ve never in my life tested positive for steroids. What do you want me to say? “I bet you I’ve taken over 60 steroid tests. In college I had 15 random drug tests in two years. I’ve taken drug tests for the NFL, the WWE, the UFC. I must be pretty good at masking steroids. God gave me this body: Are you jealous of it or what? Give me a break. I got the genetics of—not to get into racism or anything—but I’m built like a black man. Would you say so? It’s all genetics. I wouldn’t say we’re all created equal. That’s just to make the other guys feel good who don’t have what you’ve got.”
On the marketability he brings to the table for the UFC:
There’s not another fighter in the UFC that looks like me,” he declares, recounting his conversation with White, “that has the star power that I’ve got. I’m known all over the world because I was a pro wrestler. I’ve been to 30 different countries that know my name. I put asses in the seats, and I sell pay-per-views.
On the first Frank Mir fight:
“Frank knows deep down that he lost that fight,” Lesnar growls. “He got a Christmas present.
Mir retorts:
Through the grapevine we found out that Brock hired lawyers to look over the officiating rules, but they couldn’t find nothing wrong with any of it. I look at it as a great victory. He couldn’t put me away with his power. Brock was trying to win the fight real quickly by landing a couple shots and not doing damage. That’s not really an honorable way to try to win.
What might be in store for Mir at UFC 100:
I’m gonna murder him,” Lesnar says. “I count the days and the nights before I get to do that.”
Obviously, Mir has something to say about that:
“All I remember from last time,” says Mir, who once snapped an opponent’s forearm with a submission, “is him whimpering and wincing as I was tapping him.” Mir has studied Lesnar’s career, going all the way back to his NCAA days. “If you watched when he wrestled in college,” he observes, “his abilities were not very technical. He used his size and his power. He won matches by one and two points, drew the pace down, got real boring.” He says Lesnar fundamentally remains that kind of fighter and that Lesnar’s strategy will play directly into his own legendary sub mission skills. White calls Mir “one of the two greatest heavyweight submission guys ever.” “There’s no way anybody can roll with me for 25 minutes and not get tapped,” Mir says. “It’s just impossible.”
This fight is already the most well-built match in UFC history, and it’s only going to get better and more intense as July 11th nears. Lesnar is a heavy favorite by both Vegas and by bettors, but it’s going to be a very interesting fight to watch and just might mark the official resurgence of the UFC heavyweight division.
