The Hybrid: Part Fighter, Part Fan

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Landow has trained a collection of athletes from various professional organizations. During the recent NFL lockout, he estimates he was working with “anywhere between 20 to 45 NFL pros.” Schaub, who still has a network of friends in the league from his playing days, says he would engage in some of the Denver Broncos conditioning workouts Landow oversaw while the players were barred from NFL facilities. In turn, they probed Schaub about alternate methods of training from the MMA lifestyle.

“It’s definitely a different world,” Schaub says. “Their conditioning to me was something I could do and go knock out my other three practices, but if they were to follow me through the day, they wouldn’t make it to the next day.”

NFL players like Johnnie Morton, Michael Westbrook, Matt Mitrione and Marcus Jones have tried to make the transition to MMA with mixed results. While football remains the unquestioned king of the American sports landscape, Landow sees a huge difference between the attitudes of NFL players and those of mixed martial artists.

“In NFL circumstances, you get a lot of prima donnas and you get guys who ultimately won’t work as hard as you need to work to be a mixed martial artist -- to be an exceptional one,” Landow says. “With that being said, I don’t think you can make the transition as easily as Brendan has because Brendan walks in with the work ethic and the natural ability, as well. I think [with] a lot of the NFL players, there’s a lot of great natural ability, but it’s not always followed up with great work ethic.”

While respectful of his opponents, Schaub remains supremely confident regarding his own abilities. He mentions Velasquez and Junior dos Santos when discussing heavyweights that can match his skills among the UFC’s current crop of big men.

“Those guys are at the top of their game,” he says, “and I think I can stack up with either of those guys.”

Landow views Schaub as an exceptional specimen.

“I think that sometimes the word athlete is overused in mixed martial arts,” Landow says. “I think that these guys are tremendous in their skill sets, but they can be better athletes, I feel. As far as in the heavyweight division, I don’t think there’s anybody out there that truly is [as] athletic as Brendan and has the variables or the intangibles. Usually, you’ll find a guy who’s real athletic and real explosive, but he doesn’t have a gas tank. Brendan’s unique where he has both.”

Much like Carwin, Schaub’s early career was characterized by the quick knockout finish. Recently, he has begun to demonstrate some of his lesser-known attributes, like the wrestling he used to fend off Filipovic before stopping him in the third round at UFC 128. The best might be yet to come.

“The funny thing is I really haven’t been able to show my capabilities. Cro Cop ... he was rushing in so hard; the wrestling was there,” Schaub says. “That’s not something we really game plan. I knew Cro Cop was tough to take down, but when guys are rushing in like that, my double-leg, as Shane Carwin would tell you, it’s tough to deal with. I’m just starting to reach my potential. You can expect to see something different every time until I get the belt.”

Landow acknowledges that his client has come a long way since being knocked out by Roy Nelson at the “The Ultimate Fighter” 10 Finale in December 2009. Now, Schaub seems capable of excelling even at inopportune moments.

“He’s starting to understand how to get into correct positions that allow him to generate maximal force,” Landow says. “I always talk to my athletes about doing all the right things from the wrong positions, meaning that no fight is gonna be ideal. I’d say I’ve seen Brendan become more comfortable with doing all the right things from the wrong positions.”

If anyone is aware that no fight is ideal, it is Nogueira. The Brazilian has battled adversity inside and outside of the cage for his entire life, so what finished Schaub’s previous opponents might not necessarily spell the end for “Minotauro.” When given a chance to recover, Nogueira has demonstrated an innate ability for the comeback submission, but that does not deter Schaub’s sense of curiosity.

“He’s probably the best heavyweight in the world as far as MMA goes when it comes to grappling,” he says. “There comes a point where I want to beat these guys at what they’re supposedly better than me at. It’s a huge risk, especially in this fight. I’d love to see what he has down there, and I’d love to see how I stacked up against one of the best ever on the ground.”

Beating Nogueira, whether on the ground or standing, would give Schaub what he views as an inside track to facing the winner of the Velasquez-Dos Santos matchup at UFC 139 in November.

“It’s gonna be tough for someone to argue against winning five straight with wins over Gonzaga, Cro Cop and Nogueira,” he says. “I think I can throw my name right in the hat of being next in line.”