Brock Lesnar will coach on "The Ultimate Fighter"
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will be a coach on the organization's reality fighting show, "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV, matched against future opponent Junior Dos Santos, the UFC announced Tuesday.
Filming will begin later this month in Las Vegas, and the show, featuring aspiring UFC welterweights, will premiere on Spike on March 30.
Lesnar and Dos Santos are scheduled to fight June 11 in Vancouver, UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta told The Times.
Lesnar lost his title in October when he was defeated by unbeaten Cain Velasquez at Anaheim's Honda Center.
"This is something Brock brought up, he wanted to do it," Fertitta said. "Now, he'll have a big fight at the end of it, with 13 weeks to build it up."
Dos Santos has defeated Fabricio Werdum, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson in UFC action. The Brazilian was poised to fight Velasquez until the champion suffered an injury and opted to undergo surgery.
Fertitta said the Lesnar-Dos Santos winner will now fight Velasquez later this year.
"This will be an interesting fight, with Brock's wrestling against JDS' punching power," Fertitta said.
Big television ratings are expected with Lesnar involved. The former World Wrestling Entertainment star emerged as the face of the UFC by ascending to the heavyweight title, and still retains tremendous popularity.
--Lance Pugmire
