Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos named TUF 13 Coaches

[Rappy Veteran]

After months of speculation and more than a dozen rumored names, UFC president Dana White today announced heavyweight contenders Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos will be coaches on the upcoming 13th season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

White made the announcement during a media call.

"The Ultimate Fighter 13" debuts March 30 on Spike TV, and a live finale is slated for June 4. The coaches meet in a season-ending fight in June, possibly at UFC 131 in Toronto.

Although initially announced as a middleweight and welterweight season of the UFC's long-running reality series, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported earlier this week that producers instead opted to make "TUF 13" a welterweights-only show. Production begins this month in Las Vegas. In an elimination round of fights, 28 hopefuls will fight for 14 official cast spots. The show uses a 32-slot tournament, which includes two "wild card" picks who earn a second life in the quarterfinals.

Over the past couple months, many UFC veterans had been rumored for potential "TUF 13" coaching slots, including Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Brian Stann, Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo and others. Ultimately, though, officials went with the big men, Lesnar and Dos Santos.

White said Velasquez's recent shoulder surgery and long layoff opened the door for Lesnar and Dos Santos, which then "made all the sense in the world." However, no interim title will be on the line when the coaches fight, though the winner gets an immediate title shot with Velasquez.

Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is a former titleholder who lost his belt to current champ Cain Velasquez in October. The former WWE star has emerged as the UFC's top pay-per-view draw, and his inclusion in "TUF" should translate to big ratings.

Dos Santos (12-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC), meanwhile, recently claimed top-contender status by posting a 6-0 record in the UFC. Recent wins have come over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gilbert Yvel, Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson.

"TUF" debuted in 2005 and proved a ratings hit. It also helped the UFC's and MMA's move into the mainstream. Since the debut season, the show has launched the career of more than 100 UFC fighters, and past cast members Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Matt Serra went on to win UFC titles.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/22057/brock-lesnar-and-junior-dos-santos-named-the-ultimate-fighter-13-coaches.mma

[Rappy Veteran]

edited first post saves creating another thread! :p

[D. S. Veteran]

I think I just made a mess in my pants... :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot: :woot:

Maybe we'll see I said in the other thread about Brock training lighter fighters: JUST USE YOUR VIKING MIGHT TO SMASH EVERYONE TO BITS.

The only way they could top this would be if TUF 14 was Sonnen vs Bisping (for vs UK) or Wanderlei/Anderson (for vs Brazil)

[Kriz]

Awesome that is, goodbye JDS title shot :)

[Lovell]

JDS team with the help of Black house should crush Brocks.

Small list of the best fighters at Black house

• Jose Aldo (Current UFC Featherweight Champion)
  
• Anderson Silva (Current UFC Middleweight Champion)
  
• Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (Current Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion)
  
• Ronaldo "Jacar?" Souza (Current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion)
  
• Ant?nio Rodrigo Nogueira (Former Pride FC heavyweight champion and former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion)
  
• Lyoto Machida (Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
  
• Paulo Filho (Former WEC Middleweight Champion)
  

[+StevoFC MVC]

I wouldn't want Brock as a coach. He sucks. He's the one who needs coached.

[Kriz]

Time will tell, the outcome of the Brock/JDS fight is already pretty much set in stone in my eyes.. Cant finish Roy Nelson? You wont finish Brock, JDS does have a nice list of fighters he has beaten, but Brock wont be added to it..

[D. S. Veteran]

Time will tell, the outcome of the Brock/JDS fight is already pretty much set in stone in my eyes.. Cant finish Roy Nelson? You wont finish Cain Velasquez, JDS does have a nice list of fighters he has beaten, but Cain wont be added to it..

Fixed that for you.

We are talking about Brock Lesnar here, the guy that rolls into a ball when he is punched in the face, going up against one of the best strikers in all of MMA.

I'm just going to leave this here... :whistle:

[Kriz]

Ha, cheers Bun ;) I was actually talking about Brock, he isnt going to give JDS a chance to punch him.. Fancy an e-wager? :D

[D. S. Veteran]

Im gonna be rubbing it in to you guys so bad when Lesnar wins ;)

Remember when you said that about UFC 121? :rofl:

JDS will win because I want to see JDS vs Velasquez. For me, it's the best HW fight available today besides Fedor vs Ubereem.

[Kriz]

Haha yeah yeah i do remember that, i did eat my words, just trying to think positive thats all! Haha..

I do agree though that JDS vs Velasquez would be a better fight..

[Rappy Veteran]

Dana White: Brock Lesnar Is Well Qualified To Coach 'TUF 13'

UFC president Dana White and company recently put to rest months of speculation surrounding the future of former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar by announcing that the reclusive Minnesotan behemoth would serve as a coach on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show.

Many speculated that Lesnar, who is well-known to prefer the privacy of his Minnesota wilderness compound to cameras and interviews, would be unwilling to spend six weeks in Las Vegas taping the show, but White somehow convinced Lesnar to leave his secluded home and bring his coaching team to the bright lights of the Sin City; though, he knows it may not go smoothly.

"In dealing with Brock, one minute, he can be into something, and the next minute, he can completely be not into something," White said during a recent media conference call. "I'm already prepared for this, mentally, and it's gonna be a tough season. I know it is."

Not only was Lesnar's preference for seclusion expected to get in the way of his becoming a TUF coach, but rumors persisted since his October TKO loss at the hands of Cain Velasquez that the former WWE superstar was over MMA and was looking to perform as a professional wrestler again. White has repeatedly shot these rumors down, and told media on the conference call that Lesnar was never in discussion with the WWE.

"None of that was true," he said. "Obviously, I was in communication with Brock and his team, and talking to them the whole time... There was no wheeling and dealing about the WWE. I think everybody knows how I feel about that. He's under contract with me."

Now that Lesnar is confirmed to be one of the next TUF coaches, some are criticizing the choice, saying that, at 5-2, the former NCAA Division-1 champion is not experienced enough in MMA to coach up and coming fighters. White fought that assertion on the conference call, saying that his accomplishments over a short period of time competing in MMA more than qualify him to be a legitimate coach.

"The guy's a former world champion, has beat guys and held the title. No matter what his record is, what the guy has accomplished in the short amount of time that he's been in MMA is incredible," White said. "To say the guy doesn't have the credentials to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter' is probably one of the dumbest things I've ever heard."

Lesnar will coach The Ultimate Fighter 13 opposite current number one contender Junior dos Santos, and the two will meet in the cage afterward--likely at UFC 131 in Vancouver this June--to determine the next challenger to Cain Velasquez's heavyweight crown.