# Interesting excerpt from Matt Hughes book about Brock Lesnar..



## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

Hey guys, I figured I'd post this interesting passage from Hughes autobiography:

"_No one ever gets mobbed when they walk in the door at the Miletich gym in Bettendorf. The new guys usually don't come up to the champions, gushing or trying to shake hands with them. Glances re thrown sideways but heads don't actually turn. But they turned when Brock Lesnar made his appearance at the Miletich gym in late 2005._

_On television Brock looked like he could take on Godzilla. But in person he was only six foot two, about halfway in height between me and Timmy. Pat led him to me to make introductions. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm just starting out and I'm new to this whole thing." The guy was absolutely massive, but there weren't that many massive guys in the sport--and for good reason. All the muscle takes up a lot of oxygen, and they tend to get gassed pretty quickly._

*[I'm skipping an irrelevant bit]*

_"Hey, Matt, Brock's a two-time Division I All-American," Pat explained._

_"No kidding. So was I!"_

_"Really?" Brock said. He gave me the nod; we had walked in each other's shoes._

"_Let's see what you got!" I said, getting into my stance. We rolled around and right away I could see why he thought about getting into fighting. The wrestling background let him get into a pretty good position and keep it. But he still left openings that experienced fighters wouldn't. Within five minutes I had my arms wrapped around his neck in a rear naked choke_. 

_Brock stood up and it was just like when I choked out Frank Trigg for the first time. Then he fell backward with all his strength trying to dislodge me, and the force of a man one hundred pounds heavier than I was slammed me into the mat. It didn't really hurt, but it must have looked like a horse kicking off a rider at a rodeo. I kept up the choke and Brock tapped._

"_Hey, we don't do that here!" Pat yelled out to him. "You could have broken Matt's rib or something._"

"_You're right, you're right," Brock said quickly. "You okay?_"

"_I'm fine," I told him, taking his hand and getting up. "Hey it's good when someone makes you tap. The more you tap in here the less you'll get caught when you're in the octagon, you know?" But for whatever reason, Brock stopped coming to Bettendorf and rolling with us. The revolving door at Miletich Fighting Systems kept spinning._"


*Summary:*

-Brock attempted to start his training at MFS.

-Brock and Hughes rolled for a bit, with Hughes outpositioning him and subbing him within 5 minutes.

-Brock never returned, without any excuse.

Granted this is Matt Hughes perspective, I think it provides an interesting look into Brock Lesnar's transition to MMA. Hope you enjoyed that. :thumb02:


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## GarethUFC (Sep 12, 2007)

i dont like matt hughes so i wot buy his book, but if it was fr free download i would have a look at it lol..


Can anyone PM me how i can get a E-Book of this?



that was actually a good read!


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## IcemanCometh (Mar 9, 2007)

Not trying to be a douche but that is back when he was new to the sport and I believe was looking for a camp...there are also quotes of Brad Imes saying he rolled with Brock and just like Hughes wasn't that impressed with his size and strenghth. I don't think Brock "needed" or has to give a reason for not coming back...prolly it was too far for him to train his wife and kids are in Minnesota so he trains the same place as Brock Larson and I believe Sherk does...I know Larson trains in the same gym as Larson calls him Mini-me cuz Larson was there first...but cool thanks.


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## PanKrato (Mar 5, 2007)

but that was 2/3 years ago... whatever, i hope he gets subbed by Mir.


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## Jack Mahogoff (Dec 8, 2007)

Hughes is an amazing innovator in new and exciting ways to be a pompass ass.

This book just seems to be an amazing fail...idk...


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## looney liam (Jun 22, 2007)

well that was when he first started training, im sure he's improved since then. i bet he felt really ashamed getting owned by a guy half his size(even it was matt hughes).


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## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

Sorry if this post came off as a "Brock Lesnar sucks, he was subbed by Hughes!!" post, because that wasn't my intention at all! I just thought it was an interesting story to share, considering not a lot of people have bought/read the book.

I'm not a huge Matt Hughes fan, but I'll buy and read anything MMA.


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## Mongoose (Nov 18, 2007)

Brock Lesnar is the most overrated Pro Wrestler of all time. Damn that guy sucked.

He's gonna get his ass kicked and humiliate himself.


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## Biowza (May 22, 2007)

Thats pretty interesting, if Matt Hughes was fairly impressed with him over 2 years ago I think Brock must be a much better wrestler now. No real suprise that Hughes tapped Lesnar in under 5 minutes, seeing as Brock probably hadn't wrestled for a long time and was just starting out. Still, good read.


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## HexRei (Apr 27, 2007)

Biowza said:


> Thats pretty interesting, if Matt Hughes was fairly impressed with him over 2 years ago I think Brock must be a much better wrestler now. No real suprise that Hughes tapped Lesnar in under 5 minutes, seeing as Brock probably hadn't wrestled for a long time and was just starting out. Still, good read.


He also had like 6 inches and probably 100 lbs on Hughes. I didn't see anything there about Hughes being impressed, he seems to indicate that Lesnar has some wrestling background and that's about it.


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

IcemanCometh said:


> Not trying to be a douche but that is back when he was new to the sport and I believe was looking for a camp...there are also quotes of Brad Imes saying he rolled with Brock and just like Hughes wasn't that impressed with his size and strenghth. I don't think Brock "needed" or has to give a reason for not coming back...prolly it was too far for him to train his wife and kids are in Minnesota so he trains the same place as Brock Larson and I believe Sherk does...I know Larson trains in the same gym as Larson calls him Mini-me cuz Larson was there first...but cool thanks.


this was more or likely the time when brock was shopping around for a place to train.....perhaps he just didnt feel comfortable training with a guy that he may one day be fighting (tim sylvia)



PanKrato said:


> but that was 2/3 years ago... whatever, i hope he gets subbed by Mir.


it was about two years i believe.....and i suppose we will see if mir can pull it off....



Jack Mahogoff said:


> Hughes is an amazing innovator in new and exciting ways to be a pompass ass.
> 
> This book just seems to be an amazing fail...idk...


dude have you even read the book? 



looney liam said:


> well that was when he first started training, im sure he's improved since then. i bet he felt really ashamed getting owned by a guy half his size(even it was matt hughes).


if he did i feel sorry for him....this isnt wrestling its mma....brock was new to it and should have taken getting subbed lightly as he is a begginer.....that is of course is if this is what he had felt



Fedor>all said:


> Sorry if this post came off as a "Brock Lesnar sucks, he was subbed by Hughes!!" post, because that wasn't my intention at all! I just thought it was an interesting story to share, considering not a lot of people have bought/read the book.
> 
> I'm not a huge Matt Hughes fan, but I'll buy and read anything MMA.



actually the book is doing okay by the standards of a mma fighters auto bio




Biowza said:


> Thats pretty interesting, if Matt Hughes was fairly impressed with him over 2 years ago I think Brock must be a much better wrestler now. No real suprise that Hughes tapped Lesnar in under 5 minutes, seeing as Brock probably hadn't wrestled for a long time and was just starting out. Still, good read.


actually bro he kinda expressed disappointed with lesnar in the book



HexRei said:


> He also had like 6 inches and probably 100 lbs on Hughes. I didn't see anything there about Hughes being impressed, he seems to indicate that Lesnar has some wrestling background and that's about it.


well he indicated that lesnar was an all American...and division 1....as was he....and that lesnar was new to mma


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## looney liam (Jun 22, 2007)

Mongoose said:


> Brock Lesnar is the most overrated Pro Wrestler of all time. Damn that guy sucked.
> 
> He's gonna get his ass kicked and humiliate himself.


he may have been overrated but he certainly didn't suck. he had some pretty good technical wrestling, which was pretty impressive for a guy that size. he put on some classic matches with kurt angle and undertaker.


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

looney liam said:


> he may have been overrated but he certainly didn't suck. he had some pretty good technical wrestling, which was pretty impressive for a guy that size. he put on some classic matches with kurt angle and undertaker.


i think he meant his character, personality....and overall appeal


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## chaoyungphat (Apr 8, 2007)

Very interesting quote. After reading that excerpt, I think Frank Mir is going to run through Lesnar. Mir's jiu-jitsu is going to overwhelm lesnar as well as the experience factor of MMA.


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## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

hollando said:


> actually the book is doing okay by the standards of a mma fighters auto bio


I'm speaking specifically about this forum, as I haven't seen many posts where people have read it here.


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## Aaronyman (Mar 1, 2007)

hughes comes across as kind of an idiot here....why would he write that, wanting us to all think his skills made brock leave MFS...he didn't directly say that...but that's what he was implying


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

Fedor>all said:


> I'm speaking specifically about this forum, as I haven't seen many posts where people have read it here.


i think its of there hate for him

i found the book pretty good....as long as you go into know who matt hughes is and what hes probably gonna say




Aaronyman said:


> hughes comes across as kind of an idiot here....why would he write that, wanting us to all think his skills made brock leave MFS...he didn't directly say that...but that's what he was implying


well hes writing because its an autobiography book and i felt it more implies that brock didnt come back because of brock could have done to matt i.e. break his ribs when he fell back on him


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## Aaronyman (Mar 1, 2007)

hollando said:


> i think its of there hate for him
> 
> i found the book pretty good....as long as you go into know who matt hughes is and what hes probably gonna say
> 
> ...


yeah, well when you have as much pride as brock does, getting subb'd by a ww must really kickstart the adrenaline...and you do whatever...unprofessional, but he was a green mma fighter nonetheless


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

Aaronyman said:


> yeah, well when you have as much pride as brock does, getting subb'd by a ww must really kickstart the adrenaline...and you do whatever...unprofessional, but he was a green mma fighter nonetheless


dosnt matter man....its sparring/training.....your job is to teach/improve each other.....not hurt/injure them

something like that happend to me at my club once.....long story short my teacher had to take the guy to hospital.....and moral is dont ever try to hurt another member of your club adrenaline or not


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## Aaronyman (Mar 1, 2007)

hollando said:


> dosnt matter man....its sparring/training.....your job is to teach/improve each other.....not hurt/injure them
> 
> something like that happend to me at my club once.....long story short my teacher had to take the guy to hospital.....and moral is dont ever try to hurt another member of your club adrenaline or not


i never justified what brock did, it was stupid, but i'm just saying that type of thing would happen more w/ green guys like brock was


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## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

hollando said:


> i think its of there hate for him
> 
> i found the book pretty good....as long as you go into know who matt hughes is and what hes probably gonna say


It's kind of sad that people aren't willing to give the book a chance because they hate what they see, and really don't understand. 

I too enjoyed the book, I just felt Hughes glanced over certain things and focused too long on others. I suppose its his life and his book though, he gets to dictate what he feels was most important in it.


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## cplmac (Nov 14, 2007)

Honestly I'm impressed that Brock was able to keep him at bay for 5 minutes. A WW fighter has some advantages, particularly the ability to squeeze into tighter spots than HW's. This was also his first run at MMA more than 2 years ago. I'm willing to bet he has improved some since then. I'm also impressed that Hughes was able to get his arms around Brocks ridiculousely large neck. One more month and we will know MUCH more about Lesnar's potential in MMA, even if he loses we will still know more about his skill level. Frank Mir is no joke, and a bastard of a second fight.


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

o agreed 

but as long as we both agree there is no pplace for it


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

Fedor>all said:


> It's kind of sad that people aren't willing to give the book a chance because they hate what they see, and really don't understand.
> 
> I too enjoyed the book, I just felt Hughes glanced over certain things and focused too long on others. I suppose its his life and his book though, he gets to dictate what he feels was most important in it.


did you get that feeling whenever he lost to penn or gsp....and i was confused by his relationship with his dad....i mean one minute his dads a good guy.....the next his scum.....then his giving matt advice....the next he hates him


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## Biowza (May 22, 2007)

Well I took this as a sign that Matt was at least a bit impressed with Brock's wrestling.



> We rolled around and right away I could see why he thought about getting into fighting. The wrestling background let him get into a pretty good position and keep it.


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## UseOf_A_Weapon (Aug 6, 2007)

Fedor>all said:


> The revolving door at Miletich Fighting Systems kept spinning.[/I]"


This line betrays what hughes was really getting at by discussing brock's coming and training at miletich. Theres been a lot of talk about the miletich camp's inability to take in new fighters. hence the "revolving door" statement. Matts point here wasn't that brock is a weak noob, it was that miletich failed to retain yet another potential athlete. 

I agree with what was said about brock leaving because of miletich's distance from home. I believe he has a training facility on his property that he has been using and he occasionally flies out different coaches for a week or so to help him. I remember reading somewhere that he had Greg Jackson help him at one point. If that's true... then that is some very good training indeed. I would think lesnar would do well to move in to jackson's camp for a month or two.

anyways, thanks for the post.


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

Biowza said:


> Well I took this as a sign that Matt was at least a bit impressed with Brock's wrestling.


thats understandable....keep in mind tho this isnt the complete version of brock and matt


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## joey__stalin (Dec 31, 2006)

Jack Mahogoff said:


> Hughes is an amazing innovator in new and exciting ways to be a pompass ass.


LMAO nice.


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## Toxic (Mar 1, 2007)

People are being a little hard on Brock about the whole falling back incident considering that seeing as he was just starting out training he would have had no way to know this wasnt how people trained besides the fact he probably felt a little threatened being a green fighter training with the likes of Hughes and Sylvia and wanted to try to earn there respect, Im sure there is a level of hostility towards Brock for the advantages that he is given that guys like Hughes and Sylvia didnt get, I mean look at the hostility towards the TUF guys for the opportunities they were given.


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## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

hollando said:


> did you get that feeling whenever he lost to penn or gsp....and i was confused by his relationship with his dad....i mean one minute his dads a good guy.....the next his scum.....then his giving matt advice....the next he hates him


Yeah I definitely got that impression with those specific instances, somethings were either over-indulged in his descriptions, or under-indulged.



UseOf_A_Weapon said:


> This line betrays what hughes was really getting at by discussing brock's coming and training at miletich. Theres been a lot of talk about the miletich camp's inability to take in new fighters. hence the "revolving door" statement. Matts point here wasn't that brock is a weak noob, it was that miletich failed to retain yet another potential athlete.
> 
> I agree with what was said about brock leaving because of miletich's distance from home. I believe he has a training facility on his property that he has been using and he occasionally flies out different coaches for a week or so to help him. I remember reading somewhere that he had Greg Jackson help him at one point. If that's true... then that is some very good training indeed. I would think lesnar would do well to move in to jackson's camp for a month or two.
> 
> anyways, thanks for the post.


No problem, thanks for your response


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## Green Scape (Nov 15, 2006)

Fedor>all said:


> It's kind of sad that people aren't willing to give the book a chance because they hate what they see, and really don't understand.
> 
> I too enjoyed the book, I just felt Hughes glanced over certain things and focused too long on others. I suppose its his life and his book though, he gets to dictate what he feels was most important in it.


I just started reading it, and I have to admit within the first few pages I was laughing like hell. It's well-edited, he's a good story teller and even though he's dubbed a "Pompous Ass" by many people, from what I've read so far you can tell he's so damn proud of his personality it makes it so that in no way shape or form, that he's trying to hide that shit in the book and that he actually _is_ a cocky jerk sometimes. You just gotta understand that he's being real, and you can tell how he was raised why he's the person he is today.

I'm really liking how him and his twin brother grow up. I reccomend it, and for those who won't touch it, try reading it before you knock it because your oppinion is worthless until you do.


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## Poseidon72 (Apr 29, 2007)

How can you be an overrated pro wrestler....you're saying he was a bad actor?


Mongoose said:


> Brock Lesnar is the most overrated Pro Wrestler of all time. Damn that guy sucked.
> 
> He's gonna get his ass kicked and humiliate himself.


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## 3DLee (Aug 30, 2006)

I read the book. It was a great read. I am an avid reader/mma fan/Matt Hughes fan so I enjoyed it a lot. It really paves the way for mma fighters to write books. I can't wait for the Iceman's to come out. Its gotta be good.


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

Green Scape said:


> I just started reading it, and I have to admit within the first few pages I was laughing like hell. It's well-edited, he's a good story teller and even though he's dubbed a "Pompous Ass" by many people, from what I've read so far you can tell he's so damn proud of his personality it makes it so that in no way shape or form, that he's trying to hide that shit in the book and that he actually _is_ a cocky jerk sometimes. You just gotta understand that he's being real, and you can tell how he was raised why he's the person he is today.
> 
> I'm really liking how him and his twin brother grow up. I reccomend it, and for those who won't touch it, try reading it before you knock it because your oppinion is worthless until you do.


yah i agree there if you really dont like matt give the book a one chapter read at your local bookstore and i think most will surprised they actually like it.....


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## hollando (Apr 11, 2007)

3DLee said:


> I read the book. It was a great read. I am an avid reader/mma fan/Matt Hughes fan so I enjoyed it a lot. It really paves the way for mma fighters to write books. I can't wait for the Iceman's to come out. Its gotta be good.


thats why i wanted houston to get up in the rankings....that mofo could make a fortune in a movie deal for his life


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## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

Green Scape said:


> I just started reading it, and I have to admit within the first few pages I was laughing like hell. It's well-edited, he's a good story teller and even though he's dubbed a "Pompous Ass" by many people, from what I've read so far you can tell he's so damn proud of his personality it makes it so that in no way shape or form, that he's trying to hide that shit in the book and that he actually _is_ a cocky jerk sometimes. You just gotta understand that he's being real, and you can tell how he was raised why he's the person he is today.
> 
> I'm really liking how him and his twin brother grow up. I reccomend it, and for those who won't touch it, try reading it before you knock it because your oppinion is worthless until you do.


Absolutely, well said.


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## LeeM (Nov 23, 2007)

What is Matt Hughes's book called? I'd like to buy it.


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## Tommy08 (Feb 2, 2007)

Amazing read. Even more interesting is that Matt is trying to be objective and let us make conclusions. So we have several different and all equally valid conclusions here in the forum.	

So my 2 cents and speculation:

Wrestling is good, but as a green MMA fighter Brock left MMA specific openings. This was 2 years ago- and Matt Hughes recognized Brock’s raw talent. I really want too see where Brock is now. 

Tim Sylvia said Brock didn’t like getting hit. Matt makes it seem like Brock bowed out very quickly, Sylvia’s words make it seem like Brock was there at the gym for quite a while longer. 

The revolving door thing is interesting, and would take an insider’s view too really understand. The poster above said MTS has a hard time keeping people. Very good info I would never have considered that just reading Hughes’ words. It almost read like Brock couldn’t hang. A lot of people try out the sport and then quit. But Lesnar trained for 2 years after that, so I don’t think it was just quitting.


As far as MTS not being able to hang on: There are schools that have a big-dog attitude, and there are Gyms that just have a butt-load of camaraderie. Even if the latter is not as technical as the former, it does hold a certain appeal to be in a good group of people, and maybe you learn quicker because you are relaxed. The big dog attitude might attract some people that can weather the storm, but that does not guarantee those people are the best. They might just be those with the most to prove-a major difference.

Then, and this has really declined: There were fighting centers where it was ok to teach the ‘new guy’ a ‘lesson’. Rough ‘em up and prove that the sport is for real. From as little as jabbing you in the solar plexus along with a macho speech, too as much as strapping gloves on a brand new guy day 1 and beating the crap out of him. Those people hardly ever return. 

What Matt doesn’t mention is how hard and long the choke was put on. Sure he says Brock tapped, but still- this was a day one evaluation/intro. I could also see Matt’s personality as a contributor for someone wanting to leave any Gym. He did feel he had to beat up his own fighter on TUF to teach him a lesson, instead of explaining things to that fighter. That shows a little of that old-fashioned hard-nosed tough-school attitude. Also the fact that nobody looks at new comers or other people is kind of an indicator that the school really lacks camaraderie.


Finally: I never was Hughes fan and actually disliked some things he did but recently I watched an old interview he did. He said he let go of Royce’s arm so he wouldn’t have to break it. I re-watched the fight and I believe Matt did that. I really think he was classy enough to let go of Gracie’s arm when he could have broken it.


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## cdtcpl (Mar 9, 2007)

I think that excerpt shows us what we have known for a long time. There is wrestling and then there is MMA wrestling. They don't mix very well.


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## the ultimate (Mar 5, 2007)

The book was a good read and the extract about Brock is interesting. I think Hughes saw the potential though of a wrestler like himself who was green at the start.



> What is Matt Hughes's book called? I'd like to buy it.


Made in America :thumbsup:


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## AtomDanger (Oct 7, 2006)

Its pretty common knowledge that over 2 years ago Brock went to MFS to train for 2 weeks. *shrug*
That really means nothing at this point...

Maybe it wasn't the school for him. Maybe it was too tough.
You really can't take either party's word for it now.
Brock isn't going to say it was too tough and the guys there aren't going to say they are a bunch of assholes with attitudes. It would really make no sense for him to train there anyway, they already had / have Tim Sylvia. 
They would need to end up fighting.


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## Ape City (May 27, 2007)

AtomDanger said:


> Its pretty common knowledge that over 2 years ago Brock went to MFS to train for 2 weeks. *shrug*
> That really means nothing at this point...
> 
> Maybe it wasn't the school for him. Maybe it was too tough.
> ...



I don't think was posted to prove some kind of point. Yes, it is common knowledge that he went and traiend for 2 weeks there, but did you know all the details that Hughes just gave us? :confused03:

I am really confused about the second part of your post. Who are you typing to?


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## Fedor>all (Oct 22, 2006)

AtomDanger said:


> Its pretty common knowledge that over 2 years ago Brock went to MFS to train for 2 weeks. *shrug*
> That really means nothing at this point...
> 
> Maybe it wasn't the school for him. Maybe it was too tough.
> ...


Apparently it's not very "common knowledge" that Lesnar went to MFS, seeing as many people in this thread are surprised by Hughes' story. This story sheds more light on the overall perception of Lesnar, even though its only provided by a possibly unreliable narrator. :dunno:


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## jasvll (Mar 28, 2007)

If I remember right, Lesnar said he passed on MFS and ended up with Greg Nelson's school (Sean Sherk trains there, too) because it was a strong school close to home.


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## wallysworld191 (Mar 28, 2007)

thats how it goes in the fight biz...

people come in go from gyms like changing clothes.

its no big deal really. might just not have been the place for him. the place he trains now is pretty good too though.

i actually met one of his training partners..huge dude

oh and sherk does train there.


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