Brock Lesnar went to crazy lengths to avoid 'jitters' in UFC debut: 'It's a different game'
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Brock Lesnar did everything he could to avoid suffering from the infamous 'Octagon jitters' when he made his UFC debut16 years ago.
'The Beast Incarnate' was more prepared than most after a legendary first run in professional wrestling with the WWE, but he was still nervous about fighting in MMA's premier league.
Fighters are so commonly overcome with anxiety before competing in the UFC, especially for the first time, that a phenomenon known as 'Octagon jitters' has been talked about for years.
Brock Lesnar went to desperate lengths to try to avoid first-fight nerves ahead of UFC 81 in 2008.
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Brock Lesnar trained for UFC debut in replica Octagon
Lesnar’s only MMA experience before being signed to the UFC was a 69-second win at Dynamite!! USA.
The 47-year-old quickly beat 2-5 fighter Kim Min-Soo into submission. Dana White had seen enough, so he immediately signed Lesnar to the UFC and matched him up against one of the best heavyweights in MMA, Frank Mir.
In February 2022, Lesnar was asked about the differences between competing in the WWE and the UFC.
The American explained that although he enjoys professional wrestling, it’s nothing like having a real MMA fight. Lesnar used his first UFC fight camp to explain just how nervous he got ahead before clashing with Mir.
"I still get butterflies. I still enjoy it. I enjoy the s*** out of it," he said.
"It's a different game entering the Octagon and, I'm telling ya, you've gotta be half-bats*** crazy! You do.
"I built, or had ordered, an Octagon so I didn't have the first jitters of getting in an Octagon. I'm like, ‘Dana, I want an Octagon’. Boom! ‘Ship an Octagon to Brock’. So I could fight in it and practice in it, you know?
“But then you're in front of 20,000 people and then they shut the door and it's like, 'Ah, OK! Here we go!’"
Lesnar suffered a 90-second kneebar submission defeat in his UFC debut, but it didn’t deter him.
The next man he faced in the Octagon, Heath Herring, was sent tumbling by a monstrous punch during a decision win.
Lesnar knocked out Randy Couture to become the UFC heavyweight champion in November 2008.
A second-round TKO win over Mir saw Lesnar avenge his debut defeat before he made a second defense against Shane Carwin, which was particularly impressive because the WWE icon was battling a serious illness.
Ultimately, Cain Velasquez ended his run as champion and Alistair Overeem essentially kicked him into retirement in 2011. Lesnar returned to face Mark Hunt in 2016, but he retired for good after his unanimous decision win over ‘The Super Samoan’ was overturned to a no-contest due to failed drug tests.
Brock Lesnar addresses Dana White-Vince McMahon comparisons
Lesnar is one of the few people who has worked with White and McMahon.
The two powerhouse promoters are often compared to each other, but Lesnar views them very differently after meeting them at varying stages of his life.
He added: "Dana's alright. I've got a lot of money from him. I probably should have got paid more, maybe.
"I really can't compare the two guys. Honestly, my relationship with Vince is so different than it is with Dana over the years. Vince and I have had a love-hate relationship for the last 20 years, but it's been good. We've got a lot of water under the bridge.
"I have a lot of respect for both men. But dealing with Dana, it's just a totally different business approach.
"I met Vince when I was younger. I look at Vince more as a father figure actually, because I've learned a lot of things from him, and I was able to carry those things over and handle business with Dana."
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