UFC president Dana White seems to have a way of always getting his man. Sure, there's a few exceptions, but for the most part, when White sets his mind to something, it gets done. His powers of persuasion aren't simply a product of his personality though. Just ask Brock Lesnar, who at first turned down a chance to coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter until the pot was sweetened with a rental house for his family, and some cold, hard cash.And so on Monday morning, like a good company man, the former UFC heavyweight champion walked into the UFC training center to his begin his duties on the upcoming season of TUF.
It's a season that will culminate in a fight between him and rival coach Junior dos Santos. The six-week scenario has a very simple theme for Lesnar, who admits he's yet to watch tape of his October title loss at the hands of Cain Velasquez.
"Junior dos Santos is a road block in my way for me getting my title back," he said on Tuesday. "I don't got no beef against Junior. He's a nice kid. He's in my way and I'm going to do what I can to get him out of my way."
Aside from a one-night appearance at an MMA event in North Dakota, Lesnar hasn't been seen or heard from in the public since his loss to Velasquez. Despite that -- or perhaps because of it -- speculation has run wild that perhaps he would quit MMA. Some of that guesswork stemmed from a UFC 121 post-fight interview with pro wrestler The Undertaker just moments after hiss loss to Velasquez.
The Undertaker was being interviewed by MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani as Lesnar passed by on his way back to the locker room. Undertaker stared at Lesnar and muttered the now infamous words, "You wanna do it?" That set off a flurry of rumors about Lesnar's future, and whether it included MMA. Lesnar said that was never a question.
"It's a loss," he said. "I hate to lose but I'll get better at it. I'll find my way back as I always do."
Less than three months later, there he was, sitting on a chair and wearing a "UFC" t-shirt in the promotion's training center. He admitted he could think of other places he'd rather be for a six-week stretch, but said he was looking at it like a business trip with a dual purpose: to teach fighters and to prepare for his own June fight.
Since Lesnar was announced as coach there have been some suggestions that with his brief time in the sport, Lesnar might not be seasoned enough to impart cage wisdom on a group of hopeful UFC stars, some of which may have been in the sport longer than him. To that, Lesnar bristled.
"I've been the UFC heavyweight champion," he said. "What more qualifications do you need to be a coach?"
Lesnar rattled off a list of coaches he's worked with and noted the group has experience leading individuals and teams to championships at their respective disciplines.
"I think we're well qualified to coach underqualified guys to become the next Ultimate Fighter," he said. "I've got faith in my people. These guys made me a champion. Why can't we make these young, eager kids successful? I think we can."
Saying all the right things and toeing the company line, Lesnar is back in the fold. It's got to be a bit surreal for him. On one hand, he's coming off the worst loss of his career, on the other he's one win away from getting back to a title shot. He's uprooted his family from their Minnesota ranch for a winter in Las Vegas, and the normally camera-resistant star will be the center of attraction every day for the next six weeks.
It's the cost of doing business, but as Lesnar says, it's a business he never left.
"I love this sport," he said. "I do. I would not be here if I didn't enjoy this. I could definitely do something else with my life. I've got a lot of opportunities, but for the time being, this is who I am and this is what I want to do."
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