We start in San Jose, the home of the American Kickboxing Academy where heavyweight challenger Cain Velasquez trains. His coaches tout his cardio, calling him the best-conditioned athlete in the heavyweight division. Lesnar is warned to be prepared to go five rounds with Velasquez. No one at AKA has been able to go the distance with Cain.
Brock Lesnar has the size advantage, but Cain’s coaches like that. They feel Cain will be better conditioned, more mobile and more agile. All the while being able to take Lesnar’s punches.
Off to the Deathclutch Gym where we meet up with a bearded Brock Lesnar. He trains in a private gym, allowing only those he wants in to enter the gym. Lesnar feels he has the best team around him.
“If you want to fly with the eagles you can’t hang out with the crows.” – Our first pearl of wisdom from Lesnar.
Brock is whipping ropes around in his gym and it really symbolizes his raw power. He’s an absolute monster.
Cain Velasquez talks about his Mexican heritage playing a part in his in-ring persona. He has the heart of a Mexican fighter; you’ll have to stop him because he’s not going to quit.
Efrain Velasquez, Cain’s father, moved his family to the United States in 1975 for a better life. He loaded lettuce at a factory, which is described as the hardest job at the plant. Constant lifting, non-stop, for hours and hours. Efrain’s work ethic is not lost on Cain and is a driving force for Cain during training.
Brock Lesnar talks about growing up on a farm in South Dakota. He helped cultivate the food that us city-folk would eat. His neighbors were astonished by his appetite as a child. The matriarch of the neighboring family would make one roast for Brock and one for the rest of the family. I would certainly qualify that appetite as ‘healthy.’
Lesnar was a slow-starter in his amateur wrestling days but worked hard to become the 2000 NCAA Champion while attending the University of Minnesota.
Cain Velasquez catches a flight to Miami to help promote the UFC in the Latino community. Velasquez is vying to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion in UFC history.
Back to AKA. Team Velasquez realizes that Brock is the best, and through Brock is the only way for Cain to go in order to become the best.
That’s all for the premeire episode of UFC Primetime: Lesnar-Velasquez. Check back here next week for a review of the second episode.
