UFC
UFC 141: Brock Lesnar's trainer believes former Champ is at "full potential for the first time"
Dec 21, 2011 - 10:45:13 PM UFC 141: Brock Lesnar's trainer believes former Champ is at "full potential for the first time"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

When Brock Lesnar steps back into the Octagon next Friday night in Las Vegas, there will be a lot of questions just waiting to be answered in his fight with Alistair Overeem. His battles with diverticulitis had him at a less than ideal spot in his two fights in 2010, and with such a quick turnaround between both bouts he didn't have much time to recover.

Everyone knows what happened in both fights, and as he tries to shrug off the belief that he can't take a punch, he's simultaneously going to have to do so against one of the top strikers in the heavyweight division. Additionally, he'll have questions about his conditioning and cage rust after a 14 month layoff, with answers likely becoming apparent in short order in the fight.

With that said, he has supreme confidence in himself into this fight, and at least one of his trainers has publicly commented on what he thinks we'll see from Lesnar on Dec. 30. In an interview with GracieMag.com, Lesnar's Brazilian jiu jitsu coach Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros said he believes we'll be seeing Lesnar at his best in this fight.

"Brock is in great shape. Undergoing surgery was the best decision he could have made. I believe we'll be seeing Brock at full potential for the first time," Comprido said.

"I'm truly excited about this fight. They're two giants, two monsters on a collision course—I don't think I've ever seen two guys as big and skillful as they are. If Alistair isn't 100%, he'd best not show up, because Brock is super well prepared; I guarantee it."

While those are just the thoughts of one man, he knows what he's done with Lesnar in this training camp, and has a feel for what he expects out of his fighter in this bout. It's now up to Lesnar to go out and get the job done to close out 2011.

Penick's Analysis: Lesnar's got a lot of skills in his back pocket for this fight, and it's really going to come down to how well he can handle getting hit this time around. He's bound to take a shot or two from Overeem, but he's got some heavy hands of his own, a highly underrated ground game, and some nasty ground and pound that can all work to his favor in this fight. If he's truly at his full potential, we're in for a great performance and a great fight from him, and once again, that's all fans can ask for. Whomever wins this fight is going to need to exert a wide array of skills, and that makes for a hugely intriguing fight overall.

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