The Mac
06-23-2010, 08:47 AM
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) welcomed a special guest to his Minnesota training camp this past week, that of former champion Randy Couture, and said the UFC legend taught him valuable tricks of the trade.
Lesnar, who took the heavyweight belt from Couture this past November at UFC 91 and defends it for a second time against Shane Carwin at July's UFC 116 event, also got a welcomed lesson on what needs improvement in his game.
"We got some great workouts in," Lesnar said. "And at the end of the day, we [sat] down and [complimented] one another, and we [degraded] one another."
After a scary bout with diverticulitis and a three-month stretch in which the reigning heavyweight champion questioned whether he'd ever return to fighting, Lesnar returned to the gym in January after an all-clear from the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Couture, who on Tuesday turned 47, used the week-long camp as a kick-off point for his UFC 118 bout with former boxing champion James Toney.
Lesnar's regular stable of training partners includes Bellator heavyweight Cole Konrad, as well as UFC veterans Chris Tuchscherer and John Madsen. The wrestling-heavy crew is led by coach Marty Morgan.
The heavyweight champ said he was "very impressed" by the 47-year-old former champion's work ethic and called him a "grinder."
"When Randy Couture comes into the gym, you have to raise your intensity level," Lesnar said. "He just brings his ambience into the gym, and everybody raises their game."
Lesnar, who said his camp had become "stagnant" prior to his battle with diverticulitis, said Couture's criticism was a refreshing change to the day-to-day drudge of training.
"The biggest compliment (that we can give as fighters) is honesty - what you're doing wrong, and how you can become better," Lesnar said. "That's what I want to hear.
"I know what I'm good at - tell me what I'm not good at, and then we can go from there."
And while Lesnar said he is inspired by Couture (18-10 MMA, 15-7 UFC), he won't be following in the legend's footsteps.
"I don't want to be him when I'm 45 years old, but I got to take my hat off to the guy," Lesnar said.
Lesnar, who took the heavyweight belt from Couture this past November at UFC 91 and defends it for a second time against Shane Carwin at July's UFC 116 event, also got a welcomed lesson on what needs improvement in his game.
"We got some great workouts in," Lesnar said. "And at the end of the day, we [sat] down and [complimented] one another, and we [degraded] one another."
After a scary bout with diverticulitis and a three-month stretch in which the reigning heavyweight champion questioned whether he'd ever return to fighting, Lesnar returned to the gym in January after an all-clear from the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Couture, who on Tuesday turned 47, used the week-long camp as a kick-off point for his UFC 118 bout with former boxing champion James Toney.
Lesnar's regular stable of training partners includes Bellator heavyweight Cole Konrad, as well as UFC veterans Chris Tuchscherer and John Madsen. The wrestling-heavy crew is led by coach Marty Morgan.
The heavyweight champ said he was "very impressed" by the 47-year-old former champion's work ethic and called him a "grinder."
"When Randy Couture comes into the gym, you have to raise your intensity level," Lesnar said. "He just brings his ambience into the gym, and everybody raises their game."
Lesnar, who said his camp had become "stagnant" prior to his battle with diverticulitis, said Couture's criticism was a refreshing change to the day-to-day drudge of training.
"The biggest compliment (that we can give as fighters) is honesty - what you're doing wrong, and how you can become better," Lesnar said. "That's what I want to hear.
"I know what I'm good at - tell me what I'm not good at, and then we can go from there."
And while Lesnar said he is inspired by Couture (18-10 MMA, 15-7 UFC), he won't be following in the legend's footsteps.
"I don't want to be him when I'm 45 years old, but I got to take my hat off to the guy," Lesnar said.