“You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”—James D. Miles

Anyone who has been following the UFC long enough, can’t deny that they have watched The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) from time to time, even if they aren’t self-professed “diehards” of the show.

Personally, I don’t particularly care for the show, as I really only enjoy the fighting aspects of MMA, and not so much the hyped-up drama that has now permanently integrated itself as a part of this sport.

But I’ll still tune in from time to time.

In my opinion, the worst coach to ever appear on the show was a fighter who was hands-down, one of the most likeable and popular fighters in the entire history of the sport—Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (don’t worry, Tito Ortiz was a very close second).

In a previous article that I had written about my impressions of Rampage as a coach, I went on to explain that in order to be a good coach, first and foremost, a person must be driven to help others. That’s a top priority. A coach’s motivation must come from seeing others succeed.

Rampage proved time and time again that he was only interested in his own needs and sadly, he left his fighters without a coach on more than one occasion.

Good coaches are generally considered to be what is known as a “people person.” A person who possesses the combined qualities of being a great listener, and being someone who genuinely cares about and is interested in helping other people.

Whether you are selling a product, an idea, or even yourself, you must always prioritize the needs of the person that you are dealing with in order to make that other person feel more comfortable with you. It is important that they feel comfortable with you so that they can trust you.

You cannot learn anything of substance or significance from a person that you do not trust.

A good coach is also a great communicator. As a coach, you can have all of the technical knowledge in the world about mixed martial arts, but if you are not able to communicate effectively, then all of your knowledge and expertise will be lost.

In light of the UFC’s recent announcement that will see the former Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar play the role of coach in the upcoming season of TUF against the rising Brazilian contender, Junior dos Santos, I couldn’t help but to wonder what sort of coaches these two men would make.

Unfortunately, first impressions would tell me that Brock Lesnar isn’t going to fair much better than Rampage did.

And as for JDS, does anyone know if the man even speaks English? That’s a serious question by the way, because if he thinks that he is going to coach through the services of his infamous interpreter, Ed Soares, then it’s going to be a very painful season for his team members (not to mention, the viewers).

Remember: The ability to communicate is key.

Having never had met Lesnar, thus never having had the opportunity to get to know the man on a more personal level (my hunting trip invite must have gotten lost in the mail), the only conclusions that I have been able to draw about Lesnar have been from watching him on the television screen, just like the vast majority of all other MMA fans.

There was that one time however, when I was fortunate enough to sit in on the Brock Lesnar/Cain Velasquez conference call (courtesy of El Octagono) only days before their Championship bout, and I have to say—Lesnar’s demeanor and attitude towards the press was no different than anything that I have seen or heard from him prior to that.

He kept his answers very short, which came across as being a bit rude, and on a couple of occasions, Lesnar even downright refused to provide an answer.

Cain on the other hand couldn’t have been more accommodating or any nicer of a person.

It was an interesting contrast of personalities that left a less-than-positive impression on me of what sort of person Brock Lesnar really was.

It’s easy to be nice when you know that people are watching/listening, but that’s just not a very good way to judge a person’s true character. Just ask Chael Sonnen.

“I don’t know who that is.”—Brock Lesnar

A man’s character can only be judged based on how he treats those around him, which is precisely why I can’t wait to see Lesnar coach a group of young, aspiring fighters who are grateful for the opportunity to place their dreams in his hands.

I truly believe that we will finally get the opportunity to find out what sort of person this WWE/MMA Superstar really is—good or bad.

And I have to give major credit to Lesnar for even agreeing to do the show because it’s no secret that he is a very private and family-oriented individual, and being on the TUF show will certainly test and add strain to those areas of Lesnar’s personal life.

If you were already getting sick of hearing Lesnar’s name dragged through every made-up and fabricated angle possible (thanks Bleacher Report), then you may want to lock yourself in a cave on a very remote island somewhere for the next several weeks of your life, because Brock Lesnar will continue to be over-hyped and over-analyzed on a daily basis from now until the day that he and JDS finally meet in the centre of the Ocatgon.

Without question, Lesnar’s reputation as the “Baddest Man on the Planet” came to a screeching halt after his embarrassing loss to Velasquez—yes, I said “embarrassing” loss—that left MMA fans around the world wondering if Lesnar possessed the heart of a fighter, or the heart of a Chicken Turtle (scientific name Deirochelys reticularia is a freshwater turtle. It is uncommon and is normally found only in the south east of the United States).

“The guy who wants to fight, is the guy who’s gonna win the fight.”—Don Cherry

In other words, always stand your ground and never back down. It sure beats the “run and hide” approach.

From a fighting perspective, I will be just as interested to see if JDS can counter the strength and wrestling of Lesnar, as I will be to see if Lesnar has improved in his striking and his will to fight back when placed under extreme pressure.

Then again, it’s hard to change a grown man’s natural instincts.

Minus the inevitable media circus that is about to consume all of our favourite MMA websites, I do think that this match-up will be beneficial for the continued promotion of our sport and for that, I give Dana White and the UFC a big thumb’s up for giving the fans (most of them, anyway) exactly what they want to see.

More Brock Lesnar.

These are my opinions. If you don’t like them...I have others. Check them out at www.mrjamesryan.com

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One Way Out…Carried Out!!!!