Lesnar less about hype than hits

He’s the rare puncher who finds no use in doing publicity duties. Lesnar has been brief in interviews leading up to UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, and he tried to make an early exit from Thursday’s news conference before UFC president Dana White corralled Lesnar and kept him onstage.

Lesnar is set for a rematch with Frank Mir, who submitted him with a kneebar 90 seconds into their fight on Feb. 2, 2008. Lesnar said his loss was a fluke. In a TV interview, he got angry watching a replay of Mir’s victory and punched a door while storming out of the room.

Lesnar said he has “zero respect” for Mir and “no patience” with the media. Give him credit for being real, at least.

The irony is Lesnar comes from the phoniest sport of all. He’s a former star of World Wrestling Entertainment.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 275-pounder has a tree trunk-sized neck and a head as solid as a cement block. In other words, he’s built to fight, not induce laughs as a stand-up comic. He wanted to play in the NFL as a defensive lineman, but the Minnesota Vikings cut him.

After UFC commentator Joe Rogan asked Lesnar a question at Friday’s weigh-in, Lesnar responded, “It’s all over but the crying, baby. That’s all I’ve got to say. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

In the scripted WWE, Lesnar had much better speech writers.

• WHITE TEES OFF — White is firm in his belief that mixed martial arts, and specifically the UFC, is destined to overtake the NFL and soccer as the world’s biggest sport.

The brutal nature of what goes on in the octagon is a turnoff to some, but White is not begging anyone to watch.

“I deal with people all the time who think the UFC is barbaric and kids shouldn’t watch it and it shouldn’t be around,” White said. “The bottom line is, I don’t like golf. I think it’s a stupid game. It doesn’t mean other people don’t like it, and it doesn’t mean other people shouldn’t play it just because I don’t like it.

“There’s 5,000 channels out there now. If you don’t like the UFC and you don’t like fighting, don’t watch it. Change the channel, watch golf.”

White does admit to being a Tiger Woods fan, however.

“I love the guy, but I don’t like the sport,” he said.

• ODD JOBS — Michael Bisping of England will take on Dan Henderson in a middleweight bout that should be a thriller. Bisping is happy to have a spot in the UFC. His work history before he became a fighter was not flashy or lucrative.

“All the crappy jobs,” he said. “I was a slaughterman, builder and laborer.”

Bisping lists his favorite grappling technique as the “Triple Decker Pecker Wrecker,” and whatever that is, you can bet Henderson is hoping to avoid it.

BY MATT YOUMANS LASVEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL