Brock Lesnar: What Coaching on the Ultimate Fighter Does for Him and UFC

We are almost 24 hours removed from the news that Brock Lesnar will be coaching on season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter with fellow heavyweight Junior dos Santos. There has been a lot said and written about Lesnar coaching on the show.

A lot of people are skeptical of him being able to do it and do it effectively. In fact, in an informal poll that I conducted on the site and just over 52% of people that responded don't believe he can be a good coach to other fighters.

There are a number of reasons that Brock would want to coach on the show and why UFC would want him to coach on the show.

What we are going to try and do is talk about those reasons and analyze them.

Like him or not, Brock Lesnar is the biggest draw in MMA and everyone has an opinion about him. He has his loyal supporters and heavy detractors.

So can Brock help these young, up-and-coming fighters be all that they can be?

Is this a disaster waiting to happen?

What was UFC's motivation behind wanting Lesnar to be on the show?

There are so many questions that we are going to answer for you.

Why Did Brock Choose to do the Show?

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 13: MMA fighter Brock Lesnar walks in the garage area during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Drive4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The first question is always the most obvious.

In this case, Brock Lesnar had a few ulterior motives for coaching on the show this season. First, he has a book that comes out on April 19^th. Doing the show will allow him and the company to promote that like crazy.

Second, this can give fans a chance to see a side of him that typically they wouldn’t be able to. The show can help change fans perspective of him, kind of like his post-fight speech after UFC 116 helped to do.

Third, Brock is a great business man. He knows that a fight with dos Santos on its own will do decent business but with 13 weeks of TUF to build the fight can do astronomical numbers. That will increase his pay day.

What Does Brock Gain From Doing The Ultimate Fighter?

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS - JULY 11: Brock Lesnar holds down Frank Mir during their heavyweight title bout during UFC 100 on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lesnar defeated Mir by a second round knockout. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

In keeping with the first question, it allows him and UFC to heavily promote the book on national television.

Plus, he gets a little money for coaching the show. It’s unknown how much the coaches actually make but if Brock’s history as a business man is any indication he likely negotiated a bit bigger check for doing the show.

By doing the show and taking the fight with dos Santos, Brock only has to win two fights in order to get the title back. Before this he could have had to fight at least three times in order to win the belt back.

Doing the show shortens his path back to the title.

Can Brock Be a Good Coach to Younger Fighters?

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 13: MMA fighter Brock Lesnar walks in the garage area during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Brock Lesnar is not the most open person in the world. He comes in, does his job and goes home.

With a 13 week television format he will have to help guide these young welterweight fighters.

Granted there are a number of assistants that do work with the fighters so it won’t be just Lesnar showing these guys the ropes.

Lesnar himself is not a great fighter. He is a great wrestler, who has worked to improve his fighting. So his expertise will be limited in that regard.

The fact that the whole burden of responsibility doesn’t fall on Lesnar is probably a good thing for him and the fighters.

Will Brock Make it All the Way Through Filming the Show?

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS - JULY 11: Brock Lesnar holds down Frank Mir during their heavyweight title bout during UFC 100 on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Brock is an extremely private person. He doesn’t like to flaunt himself in the spotlight. He likes to keep his exploits very much under wraps.

With that in mind it will be interesting to see if he can make it all the way through filming the show.

If someone says something that he doesn’t like or if he gets tired of the whole thing, he could pack up and go home.

You never quite know what you are going to get with Brock; he is something of an enigma.

Is Brock Mentally Into Mixed Martial Arts Right Now?

Ever since Brock’s loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 he has been missing in action. It took at least two months before he started talking to Dana White again. He was out in the woods somewhere hunting things.

Reports surfaced that he really wanted to do something with his previous employer, World Wrestling Entertainment, at their annual Wrestlemania show and that he wanted out of UFC. He would have made something like $2 million for an appearance at the show.

So how does someone who was at least thinking about getting out of UFC completely focus all their time and energy back into it?

If anyone can do it, it’s Brock. He seems to work a little bit differently than most of us do. When he puts his mind to something, he goes all the way with it.

How Brock Coaching on the Show Affects UFC’s Negotiations With Spike TV

A big factor for UFC in getting Brock to do the show is the fact that their deal with Spike TV to keep running the show expires sometime this year.

By getting the biggest drawing card that the company has to do the show ratings are going to go way up. It could do the highest rating of any season for the show (the record is held by the tenth season which featured Kimbo Slice).

UFC can use the ratings that Lesnar brings in as a bargaining chip to get more money on their next deal. This was a very calculated move by Dana White and one that should not go unnoticed.

Why did UFC Want Brock to do the Show?

There are a couple of big reasons that they wanted Brock to do the show.

The first is the negotiations with Spike, which have already been discussed.

Another reason is to get Brock’s name back out there. For almost three months no one has heard anything from Brock or about Brock. There were questions about what he wanted to do and if he would fight again.

This gives more casual fans and the die hard crowd the chance to get to know Lesnar on a more personal level. By putting him on free television for 13 weeks he gains even more exposure to people and it can actually help his drawing power.

That means more money for him and the company. It’s very smart business from both parties.

How Did UFC Get Brock to do the Show?

Brock Lesnar might be one of the most brash, cocky and arrogant fighters in the world. But at the same time he is very careful with how much of his life is actually put out into the public.

So why would he do a show like this?

Well he was given a chance to coach with someone that he genuinely likes, Junior dos Santos. After the season is done, Brock gets a chance to fight dos Santos, with the winner becoming the No. 1 contender for Cain Velasquez’ heavyweight title.

So he was given a chance to get a guaranteed title fight. Plus, he can promote himself and the fight for 13 weeks on television which will do wonders for the build of the fight.

Brock Knows That 13 Weeks Of Television Build Will Improve The Buy Rate

Going back to Brock being the great businessman that he is, he knows a fight between him and dos Santos is an intriguing fight but on its own it won’t do the kind of business that his two fights last year did. (For the record, both of the events that he headlined in 2010 broke 1 million PPV buys)

You give him 13 weeks on television to create drama and build a fight and the event that these two headline could easily do similar numbers to his fights last year.

By creating more buys for the show, Lesnar is able to put a lot more money into his pocket. He turns 34 years old in July and his window of opportunity to earn money won’t be open a lot longer. He needs to cash in while he can and he knows it.

Brock Can Learn More About dos Santos as a Fighter By Living With Him

This one is more about the fight between Lesnar and dos Santos then it is about the show, but it is still important nonetheless.

Brock was exposed as a fighter against Cain Velasquez, and Shane Carwin to a degree.

Junior dos Santos is a better all around fighter than Carwin and may very well be on a similar level with Velasquez.

Brock can use the show to study dos Santos. He can learn what he does in an up close and personal way that he couldn’t by just watching film. If he can get in dos Santos’ head and learn some things about him that will help him going into the fight.

This is a fight that Brock has to win and can’t afford to lose. In a way, this fight means more for his career than any fight before and any fight after.