Brock Lesnar Vs. Cain Velasquez: Paul Heyman Explains Why Lesnar Is The Champ

Brock Lesnar is undoubtedly the biggest superstar in mixed martial arts right now.

He is the fighter in the most demand. He is the most well known around the world. And, most importantly to the UFC, he brings in the highest pay-per-view totals in the history of the sport.

To reach those heights in such rapid fashion (Lesnar has only been an active fighter for a little over three years), he had some help. Much of that assistance came from his experiences in World Wrestling Entertainment. His biggest influence in wrestling was his original on-air manager, pro wrestling guru Paul Heyman.

Heyman has been involved in the wrestling industry for many years and many different organizations. He starred in both World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an on-air manager, and he successfully lead what he refers to as the “Revolution” with Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Fans have been clamoring for his return ever since his unceremonious exit from WWE a few years after the failed ECW revival attempt. Since then, Heyman has kept himself busy working on many different side projects including the website heymanhustle.com.

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Now, with Total Nonstop Action wrestling going into a rapid decline, rumors have circulated again that Heyman may be close to returning. Heyman has refuted those rumors amidst reports that his asking price is too high. In the meantime, Heyman’s friendship with Lesnar has continued to grow.

Heyman accompanied Lesnar to UFC 116 and witnessed his improbable comeback victory over Shane Carwin.

“Let’s face it,” Heyman said. “Carwin is a bad mother-f’er. He’s as bad as they come. He was 12-0 for a reason. He’s a wrecking machine.”

For someone who has been closely affiliated with Lesnar ever since Lesnar first started his WWE career in the developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, Heyman has a difficult time seeing his friend fight in a cage.

“I seriously was thinking they were going to need to use a defibrillator on me because I was about to have a f’n heart attack,” Heyman said. “The win showed me that he’s every bit of the man that I’ve always known that he was.”

The fans all know how good Lesnar is as a fighter, but they do not fully know how difficult it was from him to get back to the UFC. Nine months prior to the Carwin bout was when Lesnar was diagnosed with Diverticulitis. Heyman was with Lesnar all the way.

“He was on his deathbed,” Heyman said. “He almost died. This is not just about that he would never fight again. His wife was pregnant. They had a newborn baby that hadn’t started to walk.”

Clearly, Lesnar had a lot more important issues to worry about besides being UFC heavyweight champion. However, once he got the clean bill of health, the UFC heavyweight champion was ready to go. 

“He got the word on January 5th,” Heyman said. “He called me, and in the Brock Lesnar voice, said ‘clean bill of health’.”

“I trusted his judgment. It means in about three months we’re going to have to take a full-fledged break from writing because I’m going to be in a training camp.”

Heyman and Lesnar have been collaborating on Lesnar’s biography ever since the former NCAA wrestling champion left the hospital.

“We’ve been writing the book,” Heyman said. “We talked about his childhood, his high school years, his college years, what went right in WWE and what went wrong in WWE. We’ve gone through stuff about his parents, his grandparents, his brothers.”

What will be interesting is how the book is received. Due to his recent struggles and subsequent comeback, the book will likely do very well, but there still is a vocal part of the MMA fan base that dislikes Lesnar due to his pro wrestling background.

When he was coming up in WWE, Heyman taught Lesnar his bombastic interview style.  Lesnar unleashed unforgettable promos after both the Heath Herring and Frank Mir wins. The interviews added to his aura as one of the least liked and most feared performers in the sport.

“I can only teach someone who is willing and able,” Heyman said. “He gets how to promote a fight.”

Lesnar has often said that he does not care if people boo—as long as there is noise. The pay-per-view numbers Lesnar brings into the UFC certainly follow that statement.

Nevertheless, after the Carwin victory, Lesnar gave a much different speech than any of the fans have ever heard from the former WWE champion.

Heyman is quick to point out that he had absolutely nothing to do with Lesnar’s speech.

“I don’t know how many wrestling promos I’ve written where I’m thanking god and my family and my unborn son,” Heyman said. “This one was all him.”

Lesnar may have turned the corner with the vocal MMA fans. However, it will not be readily apparent in the arena for his next fight. Lesnar will be taking on the undefeated Cain Velasquez.  The matchup will be on Saturday, October 23 live on pay-per-view.

Velasquez, of Mexican descent, will be attempting to wrest the championship from Lesnar in the heavily Hispanic area of Southern California. The bout will emanate from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The matchup of Lesnar and Velasquez pits two highly accomplished amateur wrestlers against one another. Both were junior college champions, and both achieved a great deal of success in the high Division I ranks.

Lesnar was an NCAA champion at the University of Minnesota, and Velasquez won many Pac-10 honors while at Arizona State University.

While Lesnar is quickly ascending to UFC champion in only his fourth fight. Velasquez’s run may be even more impressive. In his eight wins, only one fighter made it to the third round, and Velasquez has dominated virtually every second of every round.

The former Sun Devil boasts a three-minute knockout stoppage over the highly regarded Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Velasquez also dominated proven veterans Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell.

However, even with Velasquez’s credentials, Heyman does not believe Lesnar will have much problem with Velasquez, or any other fighter for that matter.

“He’s remarkable,” Heyman said. “He’s a once-in-lifetime athlete. Think about it. He belongs in the category of Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. Who else has come into a sport and dominated at this level so quickly?”