From Shane Carwin’s official blog:
I cannot say I was surprised by anything that night other then Brock’s reaction to beating a very tough Frank Mir. Frank is a legend and a great guy who got out powered not out classed. The sponsor issue, you need to talk to your manager not the fans or Dana.
The flipping off of the fans that just lined your pocket with millions of dollars is just LAME. He may be a Champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a Champion. The fans are why we do this Brock, this sport is not about fat paychecks and drama it is about hard work and sacrifice for a shot to do what you did last night. It doesn’t matter how much money you make if you can’t earn your peers respect and the respect and love of the greatest sporting fans in the world. We have no scripts in this sport, no pre-determined earning amount and no pre-determined outcomes. It doesn’t matter if you win or loose it matters how you win or loose.
From leaving the venue all the way to the Airport I have had fans of the sport ask me to take out Brock Lesnar for them. The thing is I have a very tough fight ahead of me that IMO is every bit as tough and talented as Brock. Cain is no joke and he may have had a tough fight against Kongo but I got rocked against Gonzaga. Fact is we are at the top of the HWT division and anyone we fight moving forward is going to be a real test. Cain is nothing short of a super athlete with amazing wrestling and he trains with one of the best camps in the country. I am sure Joe Silva told Cain the same thing he told us, winner gets the title shot.
Shane told us on The Takedown on Saturday night that he would rather face Lesnar than Mir, so the fact that he’s starting the process of calling Lesnar out isn’t a surprise in the least to me. Shane is a smart guy and I’m sure 99% of what he’s saying here is pure bluster, because he can’t seriously believe Brock Lesnar doesn’t train like an animal and that he’s just in it for the money. If he valued money above all else, he would still be in World Wrestling Entertainment, and he probably wouldn’t live in the middle of the woods and drive a $8,000 car.
Anyone who hasn’t done so should go read Dave Meltzer’s excellent piece today about Lesnar’s actions last night. Sure, Brock needs to dial down the intensity a bit (and needs to never, ever insult another UFC sponsor again), but the way to push this thing into the mainstream and gain the visibility we need is not sportsmanship, because the mainstream media will never, ever see the sportsmanship and decide that mixed martial arts isn’t a violent and horrifying sport.
The way to push this thing to greater heights is to have fighters that people are emotionally invested in, and that doesn’t mean they have to love you. As I’ve said hundreds of times since last night, every compelling story needs a bad guy to root against, and Brock Lesnar, for better or worse, is that bad guy. He’s the Tito Ortiz to your Ken Shamrock, or the Muhammad Ali to your Joe Frazier. It’s why he’s the biggest pay per view draw since Oscar De La Hoya against Floyd Mayweather, which makes sense because Mayweather knowingly made himself into a bad guy character to face off against the everyman De La Hoya and he’ll do the same thing if he ever faces Manny Pacquiao. He does it not because he wants to be loved, but because he understands the true nature of the game. The UFC is where they are today not simply because of Griffin and Bonnar, but because of Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz.
Like I said at the top, I like Shane Carwin a great deal. He’s super strong, he’s a good wrestler, and I will be very interested to see him face off against Lesnar. But that doesn’t mean I believe he has a chance in hell to beat the current heavyweight champion, because I don’t think he does. Brock Lesnar is a scary fighter with an intensity that is unmatched in the sport, and I don’t think anyone currently on the UFC roster could be considered a favorite against him. Certainly not Cain Velasquez, who may be a good wrestler and a gym warrior, but would be severely overmatched in a fight with the current champ.
