Brock Lesnar Speaks Out - Return & Future, Carwin & Tons More
Following his surprise submission victory over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, Brock Lesnar spoke about his return to action following his illness and the fight with Carwin. Here are some highlights courtesy of MMAScoops.com:
On returning from illness: "Honest to God, from what I've been through since Nov. 6 of 2009 up until this point, it feels like it's been 10 years. It's been a gruelling, gruelling road. It really is truly a miracle. To come back from all that, and to be here and to win, words just cannot describe it. I really feel like I'm in a dream."
On getting dominated in the first round against Carwin: "[Carwin] hit me pretty good, and I didn't know where (I was) for a second. I ended up the ground, and I just had to go into survival mode and try to stay busy. He's a beast. He definitely won the first round."
On whether he was in trouble: "I really have to thank the referee for allowing that thing go on. I wasn't hurt. I thought if I just kept moving ? I could feel Shane's punches slowly becoming less and less. I thought, 'If I get out of here, then I'm going to exert a bunch of energy.' I realized there was a short time left, and I just tried to stay busy."
On how he kept himself alive: "It's been a roller-coaster ride all over the place. It did cross my mind when I was underneath there that I've been through a lot. To weather that first round, I thought to myself, 'This isn't how it's going to end. I've got to keep moving down here.' He was strong on top. He outboxed me. He got me, and I'll be the first one to tell everybody that, and that's just the way it is. It's been a crazy year. I've been through a lot, and I wasn't going home without [the belt], that's for sure."
On his mindset between rounds: "I've been in those situations. I think some of my pro wrestling days helped prepare me for the ups and downs of things. I just don't get too emotionally attached to a certain round. We train for that in the gym. There's certain things that are just going to happen. You've got no control over it, and it's whether or not you can get out of there and do the right things to move on. I knew that I lost the first round, but there were still four rounds left. I thought, 'Well, we're in a fight for sure now.' I thought, 'Here we go. I'm going to have to win this round, for sure.'"
On learning from jiu-jitsu trainer Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros: "We kind of suspected that [Carwin] would be prepared for my ground and pound, so 'Comprido' pointed this submission out. He said, 'Listen, this is something that's very feasible for you to do. It's a wrestling ? basically, it's a headlock.' Ironically, it happened on the other side. It actually all went totally backwards into it. It was just one of those things where I had to jump to the other side, and then I was where I needed to be. It just comes in training ? part of second-nature. You've got to react, I guess."
On his future training: "Each win, you've just got to put it behind you and move forward. We'll train and keep doing the right things. I'm a wrestler. I'm a wrestler, and I'm trying to evolve. Is it pretty remarkable that I've only got six fights, and I'm the UFC heavyweight champion? Absolutely, it is. But I've got a lot of room to grow. I'll be the first one to tell you."