We put the word out and you guys answered the call. Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar sat down and answered your burning questions about their upcoming huge, mega-gigantic UFC title match on Saturday.
Brock, how does it feel to go up against such a champion—especially a Hall of Famer? Does it make you more nervous than a regular fight? —Michael
I don't feel threatened by it at all. He's had a lot of fights, he's fought a lot of tough guys. The only thing I can do is analyze all of his fights and figure out how to beat him. As an amateur wrestler, I have to set aside that there's a belt at stake here. I've gotta look at him as an opponent that is in front of me and before I can get my hands on anything else, I have to win this bout.
Brock, as I watched your dominating performance against Heath Herring I noticed your reluctance to take his back. Was this a strategy to avoid giving up your dominant position or have you just not worked on it enough to become comfortable with securing the hooks? —Ryan
That was a tactical position because Heath has a very good leg slip and he's slimy underneath. I didn't want to give up any position by trying to attempt to put my leg right in and have him slip out of it. He's very good at slipping out, which would've put me on my back and him in my guard. That was definitely a strategy of ours and it proved to be dominant.
Are you happy that you're fighting Brock at this stage in his career rather than, say, a year from now? –Anonymous
I'm happy to fight anybody. I think Brock's gonna be a better mixed martial artist than he is right now because he's doing all the right things. He's got a great crew with him, he's diligent, he's got a great athletic background to build on. There's no question in my mind that he's gonna be better a year from now than he is right now. It doesn't matter though because I'll fight him a year from now too.
Do you have any pre-fight rituals? —Jon
Randy: Outside of smiling and having fun, not really.
Brock: Not really. I just try to stay calm before the storm.
Brock, how, if at all, different is the mental preperation for a fight in MMA as opposed to a wrestling match? –Anonymous
I approach it the same because I approached my wrestling matches like I was going into a fight. Competition is competition. It takes a different breed of a person to compete at the level that we do—in the NFL, NBA, tennis, whatever it is—athletes have to find a different zone. You can't really explain it to non-athletes.
Brock, do you think you deserved this title fight, especially with maybe oher deserving fighters (Nogueira, Frank Mir, etc.) waiting in the wings? –Anonymous
Not after my loss against Frank (Mir). In my mind, before I fought Frank, I wanted to come in and fight two or three fights and win those fights then hopefully get a title shot. But, no, this has been a blessing in disguise. I want to thank Randy for even considering the fight and thank UFC as well. But, enough of the thank-yous—I'm ready to get into the Octagon on Saturday night and prove to the world that I'm the true champion.
Randy, how do you find a training partner with the abilities of your opponent? —Jacob
You gotta go out and look for guys that are that size, guys that come from that same wrestling background and are going to approach the workouts and sparring sessions with that mindset. It's not always easy to do, but I think we managed to find some really good guys. A lot of the guys are a lot bigger than Brock, so I think it's been a good camp.
Randy, after some recent losses, what do you say to people who think you're getting to the end of your career? –Anonymous
None of that stuff matters to me. The odds—I don't gamble, I don't bet on the fight—none of that matters to me. What's important is getting into that gym and training tactics and techniques that I've learned over the past 12 years, and getting into the cage and showcasing them, having a good performance. I focus on those things because those are the only things I can control. All of that other stuff is out of my control, so I don't spend any time worrying about them.
Brock, I'm sure you get tired of all the pro wrestling related questions, but with your experience in both worlds, who do you think would also be able to make a successful jump from the showbiz pro wrestling world into the MMA world? –Anonymous
Nobody. Absolutely not, because none of them has the background that I do.
