LOS ANGELES — Brock Lesnar needed plenty of persuasion and a big paycheck to accept a job as a coach on the UFC’s reality show.

The former heavyweight champion was downright surprised to learn he actually liked it.

Lesnar said his experience teaching welterweights on “The Ultimate Fighter” improved his own game as he prepares to make another run at the championship belt he lost to Cain Velasquez last fall.

“I was apprehensive at doing the show because I was out of my comfort zone,” Lesnar said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It turns out every once in a while, it’s good to get out of your comfort zone. I learned good and bad things about myself, and I was able to make some changes to what I did. I enjoyed the guys. It was actually very painless.”

The UFC’s biggest pay-per-view draw and his next opponent, Junior Dos Santos, are coaches on the show debuting Wednesday night on Spike TV.