With Brock Lesnar slated to coach this season of The Ultimate Fighter head-to-head against contender Junior dos Santos, UFC has successfully found a way to address the situation within the Heavyweight division without fragmenting the history of the UFC title once again. After the season airs, the two coaches will meet for the number one contender’s slot later on this year. Originally, there were rumors that they were going to use TUF 13 as a way to promote and hype Maynard/Edgar III, but that fight will promote itself; people already know about the draw and the controversy of that decision, including how WEC Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will not receive his promised title shot. Instead, Pettis appears to be on a collision course with Clay Guida or Kenny Florian, both of whom are more than adequate first opponents for Pettis, leading to that winner likely getting the next title shot here in 2011.
In the case of TUF 13, a season that will be focusing solely on the Welterweight division, having Brock Lesnar as a coach, though, might not be in their best interests. Originally rumored to pit him against Frank Mir for the third time, his team battle against Junior dos Santos will show Brock Lesnar in a new light as while he has maintained his training camps in Minnesota since the advent of his MMA career, we have never seen how he works out or who he is bringing in to truly eliminate his weaknesses.
The Ultimate Fighter has had coaches that didn’t seem credible at the time (Forrest Griffin was “too green” for many and “Rashad Can’t Coach,” for example), but overall, the show has been a successful vehicle for many top stars. Forrest Griffin, from the moment he stepped on the scene was built into a huge star due to his TUF exposure and was someone that people wanted to see more of. Brock is the anti-star. TUF gives people another glance at each coach (strengths and weaknesses), this year, it will give the world a better view of Junior dos Santos. Hyping him to a larger audience for the very first time, it will have the same effect on the man that we want and need to boo…Brock Lesnar. Positive or negative, Brock draws heat. It’s what he’s best at. Due to both his professional wrestling background and natural propensity to “play the heel,” Brock coming across as anything other than a jerk isn’t good for business and unless he can maintain that attitude for 6 weeks, the Spike production team will be able to gather a great deal of footage of him being, well, a normal guy. Call that the “Matt Hughes factor,” as a dominant champion who ran roughshod through a division was made to look humble and even more like an average Joe. This same treatment could lead to Brock losing a great deal of his mystique.
This doesn’t even begin to touch on the factor that Brock has only been training in many of the disciplines that a successful mixed martial artist needs to be for around 3 years. He can bring in the best coaches possible to work with these young fighters, which we are sure that he will, but skill-wise, this season seems like an opportunity for the coach to finally be less-skilled than the fighters he is working with. Lesnar’s biggest talents are his freakish size, strength and explosiveness. Pitting him on a season where he’d be coaching 170 lb. fighters makes the most sense because he’ll never be in a situation where he’s being outwrestled or over-powered by younger guys.
To UFC and MMA fans, Brock is a perennial contender and recognizable star, but if Junior dos Santos walked down the road, a great number of people would have no idea who he is. Since the fight he was going into either against Cain, who is now hurt (or Brock) pitted him against a more recognizable fighter (Brock > Cain), it makes sense to give 93 million people (Spike’s reach) a chance to get to know him. Junior dos Santos works out of Black House (home to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva) so dos Santos knows what a “strong” camp is. His striking is world class and that will be something we’ll need to see Brock preaching to his team: striking defense. We’ll probably see some amazing fighters coming in to talk with the contestants on Team dos Santos, something that makes for truly compelling television. How will Brock counter? There are many more questions about Brock’s involvement than one should have for a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, so we’re sure to see some great stories unfold on this season.
