Shane Carwin Doesn’t Like Brock Lesnar’s Taste in Beer, Either

(Bud Light enthusiast/big scary dude Shane Carwin.)

Dana White was quick to latch on to the personal angle when playing up the Brock Lesnar/Shane Carwin title fight planned for UFC 106 on November 21, telling Dave Meltzer that Carwin “hates” Lesnar.When I got in touch with The Engineer of Pain for this SI.com feature, he told me that, “hate is a strong word, but yeah, I hate what he did after UFC 100.I hate that he disrespected the greatest sporting fans in the world and I can’t wait to fight him.”

Carwin was also critical of Lesnar’s tirade against Bud Light – not just as a fellow UFC employee, but also as beer-drinker:

“[T]alking trash about your boss’s business partners is just ridiculous.  I live in Colorado, the home of Coors, and me and my friends drink Bud Light.Can he really even like Coors?  Or is he saying if you pay him enough money he will drink anything?”

An argument over domestic beer.Great fights have been built on less, I suppose.And if you’re wondering whether fighting for the UFC heavyweight title is enough to make Carwin quit his full-time job as an engineer, he’s got news for you:

I do not think you can make it in the UFC without putting in the hours.  That being said, there is a limited amount of hours that any athlete can really give to training without burning out.  I think I am doing just fine.  My reasons for keeping my job are not about the money or time.  I have a young son that has been my rock through the highs of heading to the NFL, to the lows of no one in the NFL knowing [my] name.  When everything seemed dark he was the light that kept me going.  I knew right then that everything my mother had told me about getting my degree, putting my education before the NFL were as much for my well being as they were for those that were relying on me.  I made a commitment to never get caught up in a quest that did not have some sort of guaranteed base for my family and I.  

I want my son to grow up knowing that being a man is not about getting paid to drink beer but it is about providing for your family and making honorable choices even when those choices are not in alignment with what most people would choose.  I want my kids to know that contributing to society and earning your way through life is what this country was founded on.

In other words, there will probably not be an engineering job opening up in Colorado even if Carwin beats Lesnar to become the champ.  Somebody had better tell Kimbo the bad news.  He’s going to need a new career back-up plan.

Related: By The Numbers: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin