• TUF 13

Lesnar blames mental exhaustion for Velasquez loss

Brock Lesnar believes he needed more time after his victory over Shane Carwin in order to prepare for Cain Velasquez © Getty Images

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Brock Lesnar reflected on his UFC heavyweight title defeat to Cain Velasquez on Monday evening, and he cited an endless catalogue of mental pressures as the reason for losing his belt.

Lesnar's next fight is scheduled for June 11 against Junior Dos Santos, his rival coach on season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter. The winner of their bout is almost guaranteed to earn a shot at champion Velasquez when he returns from injury.

Velasquez's last outing was against Lesnar, when he stopped the former WWE star inside the first round. That night Lesnar appeared to be outclassed, but he claims his life-threatening intestinal problems, the birth of his new baby boy, and the victory over Shane Carwin all took their toll.

"I don't think it really registers to the general public on my year last year - from being sick and losing 42 pounds," Lesnar said Monday. "Just to get my ass to the gym to recover and put that weight back on.

"And then have a title fight. And on top of that while I'm training for that title fight, a new baby boy. And then fighting Shane Carwin. And then I was expecting some time off, because I really needed it mentally more than anything - and physically.

"If there was one thing I could learn from that is maybe to spread title fights out a little farther than what I did."

Lesnar does gracefully admit that Velasquez was the better man on the night, but he is adamant a fully firing Brock Lesnar would get his title back against the Mexican American.

"I took a good loss from Cain," said Lesnar. "Evaluating the film, me and Cain traded punches back and forth. And he was uncomfortable on his feet enough to take me down. And then from there, I escape and I take a shot to the chin and I don't recover from it. In this game, it's a matter of inches. He was victorious that night. Next time it will be different."

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