Dana White tells Brock Lesnar to toughen up his chin

By www.espn.co.uk
October 25, 2010

UFC president Dana White has told Brock Lesnar to improve his punch retention before making a quick return to the Octagon.

For the second successive fight, Lesnar was dropped and beaten up at UFC 121 as Cain Velasquez stole his UFC heavyweight title. Defeat comes on the back of a pounding from Shane Carwin, whom Lesnar eventually beat at UFC 116 after Carwin gassed himself out.

Clearly, despite getting the better of Randy Couture on his feet back in 2008, Lesnar can be penetrated when the fight remains vertical, which is a huge problem when the likes of Carwin and Velasquez can match the former WWE star's grappling background. White acknowledges the weakness, but he insists it is the chin - not the technique - that Lesnar most needs to improve.

"People were saying to me in the press conference 'he's got to work on his striking'," White told ESPN's MMA Live show. "His striking is fine when he's the one doing the punching. It's when he starts getting hit that his striking falls apart.

"This guy came from WWE wrestling, he's not used to getting punched in the face. He needs to work on sparring. It's about getting in the gym and sparring with guys who are really good."

And White appeared to hint at a sharp return for Lesnar, who has previously been used to fighting no more than twice in a year. A potential trilogy-completing clash with Frank Mir is a possibility, and White expects Saturday's defeat to produce the best Brock Lesnar yet.

"We're gonna find out the real competitive side to Brock Lesnar. He was planning on going on hunting, taking a bunch of time off, but I have a feeling from knowing him, he's gonna cut those plans short. He'll still go hunting and spend time with his family, but I think we'll see him a lot sooner than had been planned."

Dana White recaps UFC 121