UFC
Brock Lesnar angry with his loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, feels he was healthy physically but not mentally
Mar 28, 2011 - 10:46:15 PM Brock Lesnar angry with his loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, feels he was healthy physically but not mentally

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The Ultimate Fighter 13 kicks off this Wednesday night on Spike TV, and the debut episode marks the return of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar coaches against Junior Dos Santos, leading into a fight between the two in ten weeks at UFC 131 for a shot at UFC Heavyweight Champ Cain Velasquez.

The loss to Velasquez last October was the first time Lesnar had truly been beaten up, and the chance to get another shot at Velasquez is what led him to the show and this bout with Junior Dos Santos.

"[I'm trying to] appreciate my career a lot more than I did before the sickness, but I'm angry. I'm angry that I lost last fall," Lesnar said on a media conference call on Monday. "But being angry about it isn't the solution, but doing something about it. That's what I intend to do, is to get a title shot."

Looking back at the loss to Velasquez, Lesnar realizes the mistakes he made not just during the fight but in taking the fight at the time he did, and for him there was simply a lot in his life that he went through last year.

"I was healthy physically, but mentally, probably not so," he said. "I don't think it really registers to the general public on my year last year. From being sick and losing 42 pounds and just to get my ass to the gym to recover and put that weight back on, and then have a title fight. And on top of that, while I'm training for a title fight, [my wife gave birth to] a new baby boy... then fighting Shane Carwin, and then I was expecting some time off, because I really needed it mentally, more than anything, and physically.

"And then [after that] I booked a fight against Cain. If there was one thing I could learn from that, it's maybe to spread title fights out a little farther than what I did. But I took a good loss from Cain."

Lesnar feels the loss to Velasquez came about because of one shot he didn't recover from, but believes after looking over the fight that he's got what it takes to make the outcome different the next time around.

"Evaluating the film, me and Cain traded punches back and forth," Lesnar observed. "He was uncomfortable on his feet enough to take me down. Then from there, I escape, and I take a shot to the chin and I don't recover from it.

"In this game, it's a matter of inches, and he was victorious that night. Next time, will it be different? I would hope so. But I've got to get through Junior, and I plan on doing that in June."

[Brock Lesnar art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]