UFC Quick Quote: Brock Lesnar’s ‘back is against the wall’ with UFC 87 Heath Herring fight
By: MMAmania
“Heath is a younger guy, he definitely has a lot of experience and he’s a tough SOB. He’s a brawler and brings to the plate a whole variety of things that we’re looking at as a fighter. He’s well rounded with hands, feet and it’s a challenge for me, and I accepted the challenge when Mark pulled out. I’m looking at this fight where I’ve got a lot to gain and he has a lot to lose. My back is against the wall in this fight too, because I said from the beginning I wanted to fight credible opponents and that’s what Dana is handing me in Frank Mir and Heath Herring.”
– Former WWE wrestling superstar Brock Lesnar tells the Baltimore Sun that there is a lot riding on his fight against Heath Herring at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 9. The relative newcomer to the sport has a 90-second submission loss to Frank Mir in his Octagon debut, the memory of which he will try and erase with a win over the very experienced “Texas Crazy Horse.”
(Thanks to MMAmania.com contributor “Mr. NC-17″ for the assist.)
84 Comments »
Great interview, you all should read it. He talks about the Mark Coleman injury, what fans think of him.. Its an awesome read.
I enjoyed it. Good interview.
Has anybody else read the Bisping interview in “The Sun”? Apparently there are injury rumors floating around about Fedor…
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/ufc/article1391524.ece
There is also a video at the bottom of the page of the interview, didn’t see that at first.
Haze, if Fedor has to pull out then I think thats the nail in the coffin for Affliction. Atleast for this first event.
Totaly agree, for the amount of money they have already invested in there first show, losing Fedor would hurt there PPV buys a lot.
yeah it was worth the read. i’m glad to see that he isn’t one of those wrestlers that is relying on his wrestling ability to be successful. instead he is putting it on the backburner and working on being well rounded instead. i just hope that he doesn’t ignore his wrestling completely to the point where he loses what was at one time his greatest strength.
u have to appreciate Brocks attitude toward his mma career. I hope he is successfull because he is a bONAFIDE Heavyweight and the division really needs him to become a good fighter!
Herring has so much experince and has fought the best out there. Brock will be out gunned.
i agree john! the UFC needs a top Heavyweight to add some new life to the weakest division in the UFC.
Bisping talks about the FEDOR vs. Sylvia fight:
Micheal Bisping recently told SunSport that Fedor Emelianenko may have injury concerns heading into his titanic showdown with former UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia at Affliction: Banned on July 19.
“I’ve heard on the grapevine from inside sources that he could be injured,” said Bisping.
Bisping didn’t mention a particular injury but judging from Bisping’s subsequent comments, the injury probably isn’t a serious one.
“I think the fight will play out similar to when Randy Couture fought Tim Sylvia, but I’m picking Fedor to beat Tim. Tim will give anyone a hard day, he’s a very, very experienced, underrated fighter and has knocked out a who’s who of MMA. But he’s gone a little bit stale lately – he’s trying not to lose as opposed to trying to win which has given him a boring style. In the past he was knocking people out left, right and centre. If he gets back to his roots and goes out like that then who knows, maybe he could surprise a lot of people.”
-fightline
A rematch between Forrest vs. Rampage may already be in the works:
The good people over at BloodyElbow have stated that the UFC is in talks to consider a possible “quick” rematch between Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin.
Quoteworthy from Bloodyelbow:
A major factor in determining whether there is such a rematch is Jackson’s knee. If it is injured and he needs time off, then they’ll go another direction, but a source from the Jackson camp says his leg was hurt in the fight, but sustained no damage that should keep him out for an extended period of time. Needless to say, that’s not a certified medical opinion or anything, so the status of Jackson’s knee remains a question mark.
When they rematch, I am betting $1000 on Rampage instead of $500 that I bet this saturday….Win me my damn money back!
That would be sweet
I thought you bet 1200?
I can’t ever remember a “quick” rematch given. I think he needs to work his way back up like everyone else… And what is that bullsh%t about Juanito protesting the decision. I can’t stand when people do things like that. Rampage lost, except it and get back to training. He should be on Rampage’s a$$ for the lackluster preformance he gave, not some commission!!!
Syliva vs Arlovski was pretty damn fast rematch.i lost $500 on Jackson the other night,and like john i will be betting three times as much.theres no way rampage is gonna let that same bullshit go down like it did Saturday night.night night Forrest.
good find john hope its true.GOD I HOPE ITS TRUE
I dont care what people think as far as Rampage shoulda, coulda won. Blah Blah Blah. He is no special then any other fighter. He lost and should start back at the bottom like everyone else. there are other fighters in line that should get their shot first. Quik rematch my rear! GO FORREST.
Kevin I lost a little over $1200 on the fight because of the odds….I bet $500, I look at it as what I am trying to win, not how much I would loose…know what I mean.
For example if the odds are the same in the rematch…I would bet $1000, but it would losse around $2,400…Know what I mean?
I like Heath..but since his arrival to the UFC.. I don’t know how he stacks up amongst the HH’s. Guys.. He got taken doen repeatedly by “Jake O’Brian”.. Who’s Jake ? Just a good wreslter.. Brock Lesnar will go through Heath’s body during a take down..he will cut right through him..granted Heath is working with Couture to improve on his takedown defense.. I just see Brock spear heading heath through the canvas.
The writer asked him about the takedown defense of Herring. He talked to him about if Kongo can take him down that should play in the offense of Lesnar.. Read the interview… AWESOME stuff.
It would be messed up if Brock has no chin!
I second that. What a shock that would be if the first punch he takes puts him to sleep. Now, that would be a waste
i don’t know about his chin, but i know his head is hard a rock. just look for the youtube clip of the botched Superstar Press from Wrestlemania where he landed on his head and that didn’t know him out.
Gotta agree here… O’Brien mounted Heath at will. If I remember correctly, Jake even gave up on the mount then re-mounted. On the ground, Brock moves extremely quick for such a large being. If he gets Heath mounted this one will end quick.
Brock is for real he just needs more time to gain experience and more time practicing on his jits.
If Brock ever gets good at JJ, watch out HW division!!! Brock will probably rip some limbs off!!!
I like Brock and he seems realistic and down to earth. I hope he can show some impovement against HH. I just feel like with Heath, you never know what your gonna get. Brock’s size and strength coupled with his wrestling background and decent standup?…surely he can win this fight.
I like Brock too, when he was signed I was pissed but the more I hear from the guy he seems pretty humble and laid back, and he seems to be taking mma very seriously.
this is a tougher fight than coleman (which I thought lesner would lose!!)
Really? How did you see Coleman winning that fight?
coleman IMO looked good against Fedor. His wrestling is far better than Brock, and his experience. Age was the only thing to beat him.
‘
Heering on the other hand has fought numerous top 10 guys on a huge stage (not WWE). As long as he weathers the first initial storm. he’ll win. He will only train his jits, and will win quite easily!
Agree to disagree, IMO Brock would have easily won against Coleman. Coleman has the experience on him, but with Brock 13 years younger, 40 lbs heavier and a pretty good wresler himself (NCAA National Champ) I don’t see Coleman winning. Coleman is known for his ground and pound, and I don’t think he’d be able to control Brock on the ground.
Coleman was a more accomplished wrestler at a lighter weight than Brock, but that was 12 years ago. Lesnar never tried to compete internationally after winning an NCAA title, but in college Lesnar wrestled world HW champ Steven Neal within a point, so his wrestling could handle a 40+ year old Coleman, handily.
Yes, Herring has fought a lot of the top guys, but he has lost to all of them. Herring has done nothing since joining the UFC. He lost to O’Brien, which was one of the worst fights I have ever seen. He rocked Big Nog, but Big Nog gets rocked in all of his fights. His fight against Kongo was a display of futility by both guys. Lesnar will absolutely railroad Herring. I will be very suprised if the fight gets out of the first round.
I hope Brock is training on controlling Hearing from rolling. hearing likes to roll out of all kinds of positions on the ground and then scramble….Brock has to control him or he will find himself in unfavorable positions through out the fight. I have seen Hearing Buckle to powerful shots for example Fedor didnt KO Hearing, but it seemed like Heath quit after getting blasted with big shots. cro Cop was another story because he kicked Hearing in his kedney and most people buckle from kidney shots so I wont hold it against him…..I just think if Brock makes Hearing taste his power, there is a ood chance HEARING will BREAK!
i agree coleman was the easier fight, but i did not see lesnar losing that one.
Remember, styles make fights.
lol Kevin give me even odds and i’ll take Lesner and anything you wanna bet
Who is the Kid training with Lesnar in that pic above..Lesnar should only train with guys his size or bigger.
I know, kind of feel bad for the little fella.
Uhh where you gonna find a guy his size or bigger. If you didn’t notice not to many of them around Brock is a monster.
There was pic posted on Mania..that should a bunch guys his size and bigger.. all were wearing Warrior Wear Shorts. some Big boys. Now the pic above looks like child abuse.. what’s that all about.
Hey, that’s just what guys with penis-sword tattoos do.
I noticed this the other night watching Unleashed, Lesnar has a smaller skull-forehead penis tatooed on his back.
Notice the different path some like Lesnar is taking vs someone like Kimbo, Brock is going straight for top competition, serious tests of his ability while Kimbo is…. well, you know.
Becuase Kimbo knows he can’t hang with the big dogs, and Lesnar is bigger Then the big dogs.
I was hopeful that the hype Lesnar got before the Mir fight was not JUST hype. I thought Lesnar was impressive in the Mir fight, especially considering the big change from wrestling. Even after the Mir loss I posted here that Lesnar has great potential, and I still believe that.
Win loose or draw, I respect him a lot for wanting to take on real competition, which is the exact opposite of my feelings about Kimbo.
Kimbo doesn’t choose his opponents, Mr. Obvious. Bas does.
Actually, Scumbag Shaw chooses Mimbo’s opponents. He wants Mimbo fighting guys who can’t possibly beat him, so Scumbag Shaw can keep pimping out his “undefeated internet sensation.” The ONLY reason Mimbo is set to fight Brett Rogers instead of yet another carnival act is because Rogers trashed Mimbo so badly that if he didn’t accept the fight Mimbo would have had less than zero credibility as a fighter.
Lesnar is going to pull a Hulk and smash.
I would be awesome to see Lesner win this fight with some sort of submission, like maybe a Guillotine Now that’d be cool
or a nasty look kimura.
or a nasty looking kimura. rip his arm out of socket and let him take it home as a souvenir.
agreed. he will run through herring. less than 2 minutes tko
I really hope he gives HH the F5 through the floor of the octagon.
That would be sick haha, I could see it happening, besides the floor part.
“MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you think about another newcomer to mixed martial arts, Kimbo Slice?
Lesnar: I don’t have a comment on that. It’s not worth commenting on it.”
by far my favorite part of the interview my dad and i both laughed
ha yeah that was great but my favorite line was
MMA Stomping Grounds: What was your reaction when Coleman had to pull out of UFC 87?
Lesnar: After looking at Mark, I respect Mark a lot but it worked out for the better. Mark, I believe, is over the hill and had been out of the league and regardless of the injured knee, I don’t think it would’ve made a difference.
Great Stuff. Lesnar is awesome.
what does IMO stand for
In My Opinion
in my opinion… Lesnar will TKO Herring via G and P round one, maybe round two if Herring can run fast
Agreed
Unfortunately for Heath their are walls on the cage. If they forget to lock the cage like they did for Irvin in whatever the smaller org was back in the day, Heath might be able to get away, I doubt it though.
it was a titlefight at strikeforce LOL go figure they didn’t want southworth fighting irvin who went back to the ufc soon after
My brain says heath my eyes say brock. i dont know with this one.
This will be a very entertaining bout. The power and size of Brock Lesnar versus the experience of the always persistent Texas Crazy Horse. I see this bout playing out with the sheer size and speed overwhelming Herring and a vicious ground and pound victory for the former college wrestling standout. Can’t wait for August.
MMA Stomping Grounds: What do you think about another newcomer to mixed martial arts, Kimbo Slice?
Lesnar: I don’t have a comment on that. It’s not worth commenting on it.
damn someone quote this before me… hahaha kimbo slice ure worthless in the mma world
lesnar wins in the 1st round by vicious g&p
I never watched “pro” wrestling, so I had not bias against Brock from the get-go. He just seems like a nice, no-nonsense fighter who happens to look and move like a freak of nature. I hope it is an exciting fight that Brock wins.
FEDOR EMELIANENKO has injury concerns ahead of his fight with Tim Sylvia, according to UFC superstar Michael Bisping.
Russian legend Emelianenko, 31, squares up against former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in a fight for new MMA promotion Affliction on 19 July.
But speaking exclusively to SunSport, British star Bisping, 29, claims The Last Emperor will go into the bout with 32-year-old American Sylvia at less than full fitness.
Bisping said: “It’s going to be good to see if Fedor is still the man but I’ve heard on the grapevine from inside sources that he could be injured.
“But this is time for Fedor to step up. Everyone knows what Tim Sylvia is all about but Fedor’s had an aura about him for a long time.
“The guy was devastating in Pride but he’s had a long lay off now and his last couple of fights have been against smaller guys.
“It’ll be interesting to see if he’s still got what he had in Pride - which I’m sure he has - because the guy’s probably the best fighter in MMA history.”
Emelianenko will be the favourite going into the heavyweight clash, but Bisping warned the Russian of the threat Sylvia poses.
Bisping added: “Tim will give anyone a hard day, he’s a very, very experienced, underrated fighter and has knocked out a who’s who of MMA.
“But he’s gone a little bit stale lately – he’s trying not to lose as opposed to trying to win which has given him a boring style.
“In the past he was knocking people out left, right and centre. If he gets back to his roots and goes out like that then who knows, maybe he could surprise a lot of people.”
But Bisping admitted: “I think the fight will play out similar to when Randy Couture fought Tim Sylvia, but I’m picking Fedor to beat Tim.”
Props to him. Even though I dont care for Lesnar at all. At least he is a fighter and acting like one. He is not pulling a Bisping card, fighting chumps and cans 8 fights into the UFC contract, WHILE at the same time talking about kicking ass and mentioning big names like anderson Silva.
If he really wanted to fight top fighters he could, but he is too worried about padding his record and being babied along the tracks of TUF winner guidleines.
Give Lesnar credit, he wants to know if he can be a figher. Sure, he could win his first 6, 8 fights EASILY, but he wants a challenge rather than chumps to pad his record. Nate Diaz is another….Even though I dont like him, either, he publically stated that he wants to fight top competition and does NOT want to be babied like all the other TUF winners. To me those are REAL fighters. The ones liek request challenges and are not happy just fighting weaker and less talented competition AGAIN and AGAIN like most TUF winners
forrest hasn’t exactly taken an easy road either, he’s beaten number 1,and 2 in the world in his weight class, lost to tito in a close decision before tito sucked, there’s a few fights that you can say he fought subpar guys but they didn’t have this kinda talent back then either..
i dont see how herring has a chance in hell in this fight and i don’t see anyone stopping brock from here on out
I look forward to the bout with Fedor and Tim. I want to see if Tim can upset the russian and then see where Randy Couture stands when Fedor loses the bout.
Cool interview in the Sun. I like both Herring and Lesnar, but Lesnar’s the underdog here, so I’m rooting for Lesnar.
LESNAR VIA TKO RD 1. THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE QUICK. LESNAR HAS AWESOME POWER WHICH I CANT WAIT TO SEE BE UNLEASHED AGAIN.
I see Herring going for testing Brocks Chin. I think Herring will prepare for the takedown with his knees. That’s right. I think Herring is going to try to knock Brock out when he goes for the takedown. Brock doesn’t have experience with knees so I see it as being very possible. I hope Brock wins this. I am a huge Lesnar fan and no I never watched him in WWE. He is just dedicated and it would be a shame for the UFC to drop him after losing to such high competition.
Lesnar by metal chair to the head! For real though, I think Herring will be crafty enough to pull of a submission or a KO just through experience advantage alone
HH was selected as an easy win to protect the UFC investment (Lesnar)
This will be tougher for Lesnar than Mark Coleman but as long as Lesnar has a decent chin and is still working his jj, I see him taking HH down and grounding and pounding him into submission.
HH isn’t an easy fight picked for Lesnar to look good against. Why would you say something like that? HH isn’t an easy fight for anyone.
hearring will win this tko 2 round
Herring is training with rob kaman and randy couture he wiil defenetly win this one for sure