For those of you who are looking for a quick, easy-to-read review, I will simply say that this book is terrible.
For those of you still reading, Brock Lesnar - The Making of a Hardcore Legend was written by Joel Rippel, a man who has apparently spent the last thirty years working for newspapers. I can only assume his father is the owner of the said newspapers...
The author shows no particular insight into amateur or professional wrestling or MMA in general or the UFC in particular. He never manages to capture any of the excitement and has confined his sources to a very short list. While there are some interviews, these are presented for the most part as complete blocks of text at the end of a chapter. The quotes and the story they tell are not interwoven with the main text.
The book is 181 pages long and covers Brock Lesnar`s life up until his victory over Shane Carwin to defend the UFC Heavyweight champion belt. Unfortunately we never really get to know Brock Lesnar and the whole project reeks of having been put together to cash in on his popularity before Brock`s own autobiography was published.
Brock Lesnar - The Making of a Hardcore Legend
Chapter One: Introduction
The introduction gives a good overview of Brock Lesnar`s life. One thing that stands out here is just how rare an athlete like Brock is; and his value to wrestling and MMA is further enhanced when considering that many men of his size and ability would have gone into the NFL where the money is.
The turning point in his life seems to have been during a two-year spell at the University of Minnesota when Brock turned from being a talented junior college heavyweight to becoming an NCAA champion. Brock established a rigorous and effective training program that catapulted him to success, breeding one of my favorite quotes in the book: `Everybody had the same chance to go to the weight room as I did, they just chose not to`.
Owing to his success at the college level Lesnar signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) months after graduation. His main reason for doing this appears to have been simple economics; they were offering him a job and he needed the money. Once he began making professional appearances his popularity skyrocketed and he became the youngest WWF heavyweight champion ever (at age 25).
Less than two years later Lesnar turned his back on his lucrative deal, exhausted by the travel and seemingly disenchanted with the fixed nature of the `fights`. The matches were not about beating an opponent but, to Brock, about outperforming the people around him.
A series of adventures followed; a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings, some wrestling matches in Japan and a legal battle with the WWE (formerly the WWF). Then he turned to MMA, beginning training in 2006 and fighting in 2007. A contract with the UFC followed and though Brock lost to Frank Mir in his first fight, he claimed the heavyweight belt soon after, later defeating Mir in a revenge match. Then, at the height of his career, disaster struck. Lesnar came down with a severe illness and it was touch or go as to whether or not he would compete again.
Brock Lesnar grew up working hard on a dairy farm in Webster, South Dakota. By the age of 5 he had already suffered two hernias. By that age he had also started wrestling, influenced by his older brothers. Although he didn`t have anything like the kind of physique he would later acquire, he nevertheless began to workout by himself and developed his strength through the virtues of hard work, habit and patience.
Lesnar`s earliest formal mentor was John Schiley, the Webster High School wrestling coach. Lesnar joined the team while he was in seventh grade.
Lesnar knew from the beginning that he was aggressive and knew people feared him, not because of his technical skill but because he was so physical. Even when he lost, his opponent knew he had been in a fight. Lesnar saw wrestling as a legalized street fight...and he loved it.
Soon after setting the scene for his amateur wrestling career Brock Lesnar - The Making of a Hardcore Legend takes a turn for the worse. What follows is almost fifty pages (of a 181 page book) that simply details the wrestling schedule he had and the results of each bout. There are a few things to learn, but basically near to one third of the book is as boring a read as you can imagine. My impression is that the author spent a day in the local library checking old copies of local newspapers and did the equivalent of a cut-and-paste job on Word. The results are presented in a very dry manner; none of the excitement of the matches is captured and based on the information available, I think Lesnar`s entire career up to his NCAA victory could have been neatly summarized in two or three pages. This may sound harsh, but the first third of the book is a chore to read, much less enjoy.
There are though a few insights. One of the apparent turning points in Brock Lesnar`s career was when he and a wrestling / football rival, Jason Nolte, collided making a football tackle. Nolte was left with a broken vertebrae. The accident brought the two rivals together and they began working out and supporting one another. This marked the time when Lesnar began to lift everyday.
The fifty pages of wrestling results spill over into Chapter Three: Becoming a College Wrestler, except that now it is his college results that are regurgitated.
We do learn though that Lesnar impressed his college teammates and his work ethic was something to marvel at. Even on days when extra conditioning was done after regular practice, Brock would still head into the gym to continue lifting. Working out at this extreme level had by now become a way of life.
Chapter Four - NCAA Champion
Brock Lesnar met University of Minnesota wrestling coach J Robinson in 1997 at the Bison Open, hosted in Fargo, North Dakota. The Gophers - the University of Minnesota wrestling team - competed there. So did Junior College sophomore Brock Lesnar. Brock took first place at the tourney which prompted Robinson to approach him after his match. Lesnar was quickly taken by the impromptu offer to wrestle at Minnesota and signed almost immediately. What follows in the book are more match-by-match details of Lesnar's Minnesota wrestling career. As before, the reading here is slow and boring and very little is added to the story that couldn't have been neatly summarized in a page.
What does emerge is that Lesnar was intimidating and that many of his opponent's were beaten even before the match had started. By now Lesnar had developed a top-heavy physique (while maintaining a high level of overall athleticism) that gave his opponents something to see and worry about from the moment they stepped on the mat.
It was also during this period that Brock Lesnar the public figure began to take shape. His rising profile saw him become a regular on a local radio station's wrestling program and special posters were made titled 'Breakfast of Champions'. As a result of this along with the die-hard wrestling fans more and more average sports fans from the street were turning up to watch matches. Lesnar himself was fully committed and mentioned that the only thing he ever thought about was wrestling.
Victory followed victory throughout his Minnesota career until Lesnar took the heavyweight NCAA title in a 3-2 victory over Wes Hand. Brock was the first Gopher to win any NCAA title in 51 years. Lesnar, if anything, was relieved with his win. He stated that he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he had achieved what he had wanted. He was elated.
The next morning though wasn't so bright. Suddenly he had an empty feeling inside with nothing to do. The Olympic trials were one option; football was another. A third was taking a deal to wrestle professionally and it was this option he took, signing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation on June 9, 2000. His main motivation was simply money. His actual WWF training commenced on August 1.
Chapter Five - The Next Big Thing
Brock Lesnar made his WWF debut in mid-March, 2002. Lesnar was impressive from the off. At this time - and this is a good example of how bad this book is - the reader is nonchalantly informed that Brock had his first child!!!
Here is the sentence to give you an idea of what I am talking about: `April was a hectic month for Lesnar. It included his first "feud" and the birth of his first child`. And that is it. There is no background as to who he had the baby with or the state of their relationship, no name given, basically nothing. The news comes completely out of the blue. (For those who want to know, Brock Lesnar`s first child is named Mya Lynn and she was born to his ex-fiancee, Nicole, on April 10, 2002. Brock later broke off the engagement to date Rena Mero, better known as Sable from the WWF and the woman he is married to to this day).
Paragraph after meaningless, boring paragraph follow as one fight result after another are shared with the reader until on August 25, 2002 Lesnar defeated The Rock to become the youngest WWE Undisputed Champion at the age of 25. More mind numbing fight details finish, broken up a little by a (very) short insight into Brock`s training regime which featured the use of ice baths. Details are severely lacking here. We learn that Lesnar did push ups while balancing on chairs to lower his body further and he comments that he did a specific abdominal routine, but this routine is not described. By this stage the reader is half way through the book and the majority of the word count has been short descriptions of each and every fight he had with no detail and no excitement added. More or less the only information given is the name of his opponent, the date, the venue and if he won or lost. A quote may be given once in a while, but nothing that makes most of the first ninety pages an interesting read.
It isn't until Brock Lesnar's career in the WWE (formerly the WWF) begins to draw to a close that things start and get interesting.
In December 2003, in response to a question put to him while being interviewed in Singapore, Lesnar declared that if he wasn't wrestling he would either be playing [NFL] football or 'fighting in an organization like the Ultimate Fighting Championship'. Early the next year he bought a private jet in order to ease the hectic travel schedule he was forced to follow and which was by now becoming more and more of a burden. In the same month he lost his WWE title to Eddie Guerrero. The month after, in March, he is reported to have told WWE TV crew members that he would be leaving the company to find a career in football. It further emerged that Brock Lesnar would suffer further (planned) defeats and it must have appeared that his career had peaked, at least for the time being. And so, later in March 2004, came the announcement that Lesnar would be leaving the WWE. Determining factors seem to have been the arduous travel, the plan that he would not be regaining his title anytime soon, and a year of wrestling through pain while on the road (he never took time off to allow injuries to heal and was using alcohol on a daily basis to allay the pain). He turned his back on a contract worth at least $10 million and which could have been as high as $45 million. Brock Lesnar had no regrets; he was, he said, tired of living a double life.
Chapter Six - Moving On
Brock Lesnar was exhausted. He wasn't ready - by his own admission - for anything that life had brought him in the last couple of years. He stated at the time 'I wasn't ready to be traveling 300 days a year. I wasn't ready to be a husband. I wasn't ready for a lot of things. I had a lot of growing up to do. I was forced to grow up'.
His mind turned to football and his training pattern shifted to accommodate his new goal of playing professionally as he started working out in April, 2004. His plan was to host an observed workout for five NFL teams on May 18. This was delayed though as on April 17 he suffered various injuries in a motorcycle accident that left him unable to train for three weeks. The open workout was rescheduled for June 2 but an aggravated groin injury prevented this from going ahead and eventually the whole thing was canceled.
Lesnar was up against it and most people wrote him off. He hadn't played the game since high school and despite his obvious athleticism and work ethic, he was now trying to compete at a level where everyone was gifted and everyone was motivated and everyone was giving 100%. Everyone else had the experience to go with the ability.
Lesnar himself declared in an ESPN interview that he now regretted going straight into the WWF / WWE and did so for financial reasons only; he now wished he had gone into football instead.
His lack of experience showed throughout training camp and in pre-season games. No one doubted his heart but it wasn't enough to compensate for the time spent away from the game. Following a game against the 49ers Brock Lesnar was cut. He was advised to take his game to NFL Europe the following spring but it didn't interest Lesnar. It was the NFL or nothing. Lesnar himself wasn't too downhearted and he praised himself for at least making the effort to try; he still achieved something most people never get close to.
Chapter Seven - Transitions
Lesnar kicked his heels for the rest of 2004 until December when he announced he would be making a comeback to the fighting world. No one knew when or how, but speculation was rife that he would New Wrestling Japan, K-1 or Pride as a fighter and fight out of Japan. He was seen in attendance at a wrestling show in Tokyo Dome. In the same month he announced his engagement to Rena Mero aka Sable.
There was a problem though before Brock could return to the fight game. He had signed a no-compete clause when he left the WWE in March 2004 (when he intended to go into football). He now wanted it overturned. The WWE for their part were keen to have Lesnar return to their stable and negotiations did begin, only to be quashed in early August, 2005. Brock had no interest in returning to the company. More legal disputes followed and it wasn't until April, 2006 that the WWE announced that it would allow Lesnar to 'pursue new ventures while he is still in his athletic prime'.
Shortly before the agreement Brock Lesnar had stated in a radio interview that, if the money was right, he would be tempted to join the UFC. Once released from his no-compete clause though Lesnar attended a K-1 HEROES MMA event in Las Vegas and after the final match addressed the crowd, telling them that he would be joining the K-1 organization. It seemed he was serious as Pat Miletich, a famed MMA trainer, later informed the press that Lesnar had begun training with him; he even went so far as to predict the Brock Lesnar would be 'untouchable' within a year.
Serious, full-time training in MMA started in July, 2006 under Greg Nelson, an MMA coach in Minnesota, and Marty Morgan, a wrestling coach from the University of Minnesota. A contract with K-1 followed in August with the promise that Brock Lesnar would debut before the end of the year. This promise was later reviewed with an announcement that Brock would first fight in February, 2007 but by March he hadn't fought and he was rescheduled to appear in June against Hong-Man Choi. A week before the match Choi failed the pre-fight medical and a substitute was found in Min-Soo Kim. Lesnar won the match in a mere 69 seconds, forced Kim to tap out. In an immediate post-fight interview Brock announced he was committed to MMA and would consider all offers.
The ever-growing UFC stepped up now and on October 20, 2007 at UFC 77 it was announced that Brock Lesnar has signed a two-year contract with the organization. His first opponent would be the heavyweight champion Frank Mir the following year.
Chapter Eight - The UFC
The UFC had started in 1993, essentially to showcase Gracie jiu jitsu in no holds barred fighting. It was as close to a fight as you could get without breaking the law. Many people saw it as being more than a little too close though and it was banned in States throughout the USA and to an extent was driven underground. In 2001 though, as its fortunes sank, casino executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, along with boxing promoter Dana White, purchased the organization for $2 million. The new company was called Zuffa, which is Italian for 'no rules fighting'. Dana White set about revamping the sport, introducing more rules and weight classes. Though the sport received wider acceptance and began to grow, the company continued to lose money. Then, in 2005, a reality show - The Ultimate Fighter - made its debut and suddenly everyone wanted to be an ultimate fighter.
Growth now came quickly and MMA, through the UFC, moved into the mainstream. Dana White wasn't surprised; he believed it was human nature to fight and that we were all interested in watching a fight. Brock Lesnar himself was interested from the off, but the gloomy financial outlook in the early days discouraged him from pursuing a career as an MMA warrior.
Brock Lesnar's first fight in the now-successful UFC was looming. Many had already written him off, or at the least felt he was undeserving of a title shot and an appearance in the main event. Frank Mir though wasn't writing him off and saw Lesnar as an accomplished athlete and a very real threat. Mir acknowledged Lesnar's superior strength and expert wrestling skills, but had confidence in his excellent Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ability to win the fight off his back if it went to the ground.
The fight itself was a whirlwind of brutal activity with Brock Lesnar immediately gaining the advantage over Frank Mir by taking him to the ground and beginning the punishment. A strike to the back of Mir's head saw the referee step in, stand the fighters back up and deduct a point from Lesnar. It was the break Mir needed. When the match restarted Mir was able to submit Lesnar with a kneebar. Total fighting time was 80 seconds and it was all over.
Dana White was nevertheless happy with Brock Lesnar's performance, seeing him as a for-certain legitimate fighter. White was also more than happy with Lesnar's star power, which was great for business, and brought the highest number of pay-per-views in 2008.
There was controversy over whether or not referee Steve Mazzagatti had issued a warning to Lesnar before stopping the fight. Mazzagatti said he had but that Brock hadn't heard it; Lesnar said Mir had received an early Christmas present. Brock Lesnar believed he had won the fight.
Brock Lesnar's next fight would be against Heath Herring at UFC 87. Lesnar had stated that he had learned the importance of being patient from his match with Mir. Whatever he had learned very nearly wasn't tested as Lesnar almost finished the fight in the first round and went on to win in the third. Herring was outclassed and there were promising signs from Lesnar. Dana White noted at the post-fight press conference that he was 'blown away'.
White was so impressed in fact that Lesnar's third fight was scheduled against Randy Couture for the Heavyweight Championship at UFC 91. Lesnar was happy about this, but he and White faced some ire from those more established in the UFC who felt that it was unfair for Brock Lesnar to be given a title shot after only two fights with the organization. Lesnar didn't see it that way and, perhaps a reflection of his business savvy picked up in the WWF/WWE publicly declared that anyone who had a problem with the situation should 'get over it' as the UFC '[was] a business' and the fans knew who he was and wanted to see (and, importantly pay to see) him fight. The Brock Lesnar vs Randy Couture fight became one of the most anticipated matches in the history of the UFC.
Couture was confident he could deal with Lesnar's strength, size and athleticism, but it wasn't to be. His confidence was misplaced and Lesnar finished him in the second round to become a world champion once again; this time in the ultra-competitive world of MMA. This victory really was staggering; with such little direct experience in MMA Lesnar had fought and convincingly beaten one of the best known champions in the game. Couture would later write in his autobiography that he couldn't escape from Lesnar; he was overwhelmed.
It was then announced that Brock Lesnar's next fight would be against the winner of the Frank Mir vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira match. At UFC 92 Mir won the match meaning that the two rivals would have a rematch.
Lesnar was going all-out in his training, going for 4-6 hours a day and learning new things all the time while developing his strength. It was difficult for him to find people to face in sparring practice but he endeavored to become a well-rounded fighter, more prone now to listening to his body as he aged and the recovery time increased.
Despite taking the win in the first fight, Mir came into the rematch as the underdog. The bookies were right. Lesnar was dominant and bloodied Mir in a dominant first round before pounding him into the ground in the second.
After such a dramatic and overwhelming victory Lesnar let himself down by going over to Mir and taunting him. This didn't go across well with the crowd and Lesnar responded by making obscene hand gestures to the paying customers. White wasn't happy about it but tried to brush it off, pointing out that the UFC wasnt like the WWE and there was no need for fighters to take on a false persona. Privately Brock Lesnar was put in his place; he apologized and things moved on.
The next plan was to get Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the greatest pound for pound and overall MMA fighter in the world, certainly then and perhaps still now, into the UFC to face Lesnar. Emelianenko though had a poor view of White and his organization, feeling that the UFC 'don't treat [the fighters] like human beings'. After negotiations broke down it was announced that Brock Lesnar would next face undefeated Shane Carwin on November 21, 2009 at UFC 106.
Chapter Nine - Uncertainty
Less than a month after the plan for the Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin fight was made public the date was pushed back to January, 2010 owing to an undisclosed illness that Lesnar was suffering from. In fact, he wasn't just sick, he was sicker than he had even been in his whole life. For three weeks he had skipped training after feeling out of sorts and losing too much weight from the workouts and he hoped to recover and get back in shape for the re-scheduled match.
As part of his recovery, Lesnar decided to get away from it all and enjoy a hunting trip in Canada. While in the wildlands he collapsed and had to be rushed (a long way) to hospital. Lesnar was less than impressed with the treatment he was receiving and things were touch and go as to his health as no-one seemed to know what the problem actually was. He was initially diagnosed with mononucleosis, or glandular fever, a symptom of which is fatigue, which can become acute.
After returning to Minnesota and undergoing minor surgery doctors discovered that Brock Lesnar had a hole in his stomach and poison had been leaking out for about a year. Throughout that time his immune system had been fighting it until it was overwhelmed. Such a condition could have potentially been life threatening or it could have ended his athletic career. Needless to say, his fight was canceled and in its place Shane Carwin would fight Frank Mir for the interim title.
Things worked out for Lesnar and in mid-January, 2010, it was announced that he would be able to fight again at some future time. Towards the end of the month the giant declared that he had resumed training and was working on building his base up again. He made changes to his diet and began to regain all the weight he had lost.
Frank Mir clearly had issues with the return of the rightful champion; in a radio interview he said that he hated Brock Lesnar, that he wanted to break his neck in the Octagon and that he wanted him to be 'the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries'. In response, Dana White called Frank Mir an idiot and the former champion issued an apology.
March rolled around and at UFC 111 Shane Carwin defeated Frank Mir to become the challenger for the heavyweight championship belt. The title match was announced for July 3, 2010 at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Both fighters were keen for the match and both felt confident of victory.
Chapter Ten - Born to Fight
Brock Lesnar seems to have undergone a radical change in his outlook on his life following his win to take the heavyweight title. He indicated in interviews that being an MMA fighter was who he was. He was, he declared, a fighter at heart. His journey back to his roots continued with a move to Minnesota and an isolated 40-acre farm near Alexandria, north west of Minneapolis. Lesnar had always been 'small town'. This also brought him closer to his daughter. Lesnar had married Rena Mero on May 6, 2006 and they had a son together in June, 2009. Lesnar enjoyed being in control of his environment. He welcomed the success but not necessarily the fame that went with it. He was content with his family and his career and after having money was aware that it wasn't ultimately satisfying in perhaps the way he thought it would be when he was broke and first signed with the WWF. His simpler lifestyle extended to fishing and hunting in his free time, training in his nice-but-less-than-state-of-art-gym, driving used trucks and watching the occasional hunting show on TV.
Chapter Eleven - Return to the Octagon
After his illness Brock Lesnar returned to training wiser and with a renewed sense of vigor and purpose. His workouts, along with his diet, were reviewed and revised. The changes had a positive effect and Lesnar was looking forward to his fight with Carwin.
UFC 116 rolled around and Lesnar found himself staring across the cage floor from the undefeated, heavy-handed Shane Carwin. Carwin seized the advantage early, leaving Lesnar dazed by an uppercut. Going to the floor Carwin proceeded to pound on the former WWE wrestler. The smaller man was dominant and it was all Lesnar could do to prevent the match being stopped. But Brock held on and by the end of the round Carwin had all but punched himself out. Lesnar took Carwin to the ground in round two and used his ground game to outclass the former Division II wrestler. Lesnar took the win, forcing Carwin to tap.
Brock Lesnar was ecstatic. After everything he had been through, and after a very demanding first round, to come back and finish the fight in the way he did was a victory to be proud of.
The book closes with the announcement that Lesnar's next match would be against Cain Velasquez, a fight the champion lost.
Conclusion
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, this book really isn't all that great. The first half is nothing much more than a collection of wrestling match reports that are boring to read and fail to inspire interest in either Brock Lesnar the wrestler or Brock Lesnar the person. There is next to nothing about his personal life, as indicated by the sudden announcement that he had a baby girl. The book improves in the second half and will be of much more interest to martial arts and MMA / UFC fans, but again, there is just a general lack of real insight and in reading the bibliography it seems that much of the information was pulled off the internet. The writing style is fine, it's just that the content is lacking and I can't really recommend this to anyone except the most die-hard fan. There are a lot of better and more interesting books out there to buy and read.
