Coach Brock Lesnar finally pulled off a decent coaching job when he got his fighter Clay Harvison ready for his upcoming elimination bout against Team Dos Santos' Mick Bowman in episode 5 of The Ultimate Fighter season 13.
Not only did Lesnar train with Harvison after Coach Junior Dos Santos selected him and Bowman, but he even made an effort to prepare him mentally by reminding him how important a win was for Harvison as well as the entire team. During the bout he further offered encouragement and support, very unlike his previous absentee-coach performances.
It seemed to make a difference for Harvison who went into the cage focused, determined and confident while Bowman acted rather homesick and intimidated.
As a result, Harvison controlled the pace during the first round and outscored Bowman with more shots landed. Bowman attempted to break Harvison's momentum by clinching and forcing him into a ground game, but to no avail.
In round two Bowman showed some initiative with several kicks to Harvison's body that momentarily slowed Harvison down. But not for long as Harvison bounced back with an avalanche of punches that kept Bowman on defense while absorbing more physical punishment.
In spite of a rather sluggish second round the judges did not opt for a third sudden death round, but awarded Harvison the win via unanimous decision.
Unfortunately, Harvison's victory was short-lived when he discovered that his pinkie was broken as a result of defending Bowman's kicks. A trip to the hospital revealed a clean compound fracture which sealed Harvison's fate for the remainder of the TUF 13 season since he won't be able to fight again.
Lesnar was psyched about the win for the team and the subsequent control over the fighter selection of the next elimination bout.
Dos Santos still had the last laugh though as his team keeps the lead with a season score of 3-2.
The next TUF 13 epsiode will air May 4 at 9 p.m. on Spike TV.
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