Drop and give me 20. Meet Coach Lesnar. Photo credit: UFC

Following Tuesday’s announcement that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar would be one of the coaches on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, UFC President Dana White was asked if this laid to rest all the rumors that had been going around about Lesnar wanting to leave the UFC, make a return to pro wrestling and that he no longer had a passion for MMA.

There was even a rumor that Lesnar had not spoken to White or anyone from the UFC since his loss to Velasquez. White denounced all of it. He said,

“Actually, I liked all the rumors that were going around that Brock didn’t want to do this anymore and that Brock wanted to be a WWE wrestler again. None of that was true. Obviously, I was in communication with Brock and his team and talking to them the whole time.”

A lot of people are surprised that White was able to get Lesnar to commit to doing The Ultimate Fighter. It seems quite out of character for him. White admitted it was and will continue to be a difficult process, but also said he had mentally prepared himself for it.

“Yes, it was. And it’s going to be [a difficult process] — and I’m already prepared for this mentally and it’s going to be a tough season. I know it is. I know it’s going to be a tough season. I deal with Brock in very short spurts. You know, the guy fights two, three times a year and it’s always tough. So it’s going to be a very interesting six weeks of filming.”

There was some question as to Lesnar’s qualifications as a coach considering he has only had seven pro fights. However, White pointed out the fact Lesnar is a former champion, has accomplished a lot in a relatively short time and he and the team he has around him have a lot they can teach young and up-and-coming fighters.

“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,” White said.

Lesnar, along with Junior dos Santos, will serve as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter season 13 which debuts March 30 on Spike TV. Following the show, Lesnar and dos Santos will battle in June for a shot at the heavyweight title held by Cain Velasquez. If you would like to hear White make the TUF 13 coach announcement and answer questions about the show, listen to Tuesday’s conference call audio here.

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