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Recap of Brock Lesnar Talking UFC and WWE on ESPN; UFC 200 Opponent Announced

By John Canton • Published 6th June 2016
TJR Wrestling

Brock Lesnar was on ESPN on Monday at 10:30amET being interviewed by Hannah Storm. He’s a recap of the interview.

Lesnar talked about not wanting to have regret, which is why he made the decision to step back into the UFC cage. He mentioned that interview he did on ESPN in 2015 talking about re-signing with WWE and ever since then he felt like he had to get back to UFC as well.

Lesnar said he was having a coffee on his farm in Canada (he lives in Saskatchewan) and said that he felt like he had to do something.

He thought that if he was WWE he could still have those feelings in the ring, but the competitor in him is alive and well, so he has to do this.

Lesnar said he felt like he was cheated out of his career because it was diverticulitis beat him, not his opponents. He said that his performance was due to the illness. He said he felt 1000% and he’s not a second guesser except for his decision about going to WWE. “This is for real. I’m so excited.”

Lesnar confirmed that he will be facing Mark Hunt on July 9 at UFC 200. He said it was fine with him.

Lesnar mentioned he’s a grappler at heart and Hunt is a heavy hitter. He thinks that what fans want to see. Lesnar said that he has to work on his standup game.

When Lesnar was asked how this happened, Lesnar said that nobody called him. He said he picked up the phone about three months ago. He wondered what it would be like to get himself on UFC 200. He said he had a “big boy conversation with the boss, Vince McMahon.” He smiled as he said he’s big business, so why wouldn’t somebody want Brock Lesnar? Lesnar called himself the modern day Bo Jackson in terms of being a two sport athlete.

Lesnar said it’s business. That’s why UFC brought him back. Lesnar talked about how he’s a prizefighter, but that you can’t just step into the cage for the money – it’s in his heart. Lesnar was asked how much money he was making. Lesnar said “lots of zeroes” and laughed without giving an answer.

He said he felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and it’s for real.

When Storm asked if July 9 is a smashing success for him, Lesnar said it will be. Lesnar spoke about how he’s got a big event for WWE in August as well. He added that he had no idea who he was facing at SummerSlam.

Lesnar was asked about how long he’s been training for a UFC return. He didn’t give a clear answer, but it’s been a few months. Lesnar spoke about how you have to be in different shape for UFC compared to WWE.

Storm asked Lesnar about the Ariel Helwani story. Lesnar added he’s not on social media or Twitter. He said he had no idea who he was. Lesnar said the only thing he cares about is him and he can’t answer that question.

Lesnar was asked about Conor McGregor with Lesnar saying he doesn’t know him, but he knows about him. He doesn’t care about McGregor saying he’s the biggest PPV draw. Lesnar says all he knows is what he’s got paid. Lesnar called himself a prizefighter.

Lesnar was asked about Muhammad Ali. He said that Ali couldn’t really speak when they met, but Lesnar said he felt something powerful from when he met Ali. He met him once and even though Ali never spoke a word, he felt his presence. He said you have to be flashy on the outside and on the inside. He had sympathy for the family because of Ali having to live with Parkinson’s for many years (over 30 years).

When asked about his legacy, Lesnar says he doesn’t know what it is and it’s whatever people want it to be. He says he needs to be the man he needs to be for himself, his family and God. He thinks people that live on legacy are shallow in the soul.

Storm wished Lesnar the best and that was it. It went about 15 minutes.

TJR Thoughts: It was expected that Hunt would be the opponent and there it is. I’m not a hardcore UFC fan anymore, but I know enough to know that Hunt has the kind of knockout power that should make people worry about Lesnar. He may get knocked out pretty bad here. Then again, maybe Lesnar wins. He makes a good point that when he was last in UFC he wasn’t in great health and that was a factor in losing. That doesn’t mean he’s going to win now especially after five years away from being in the octagon.

There’s no official word on when Lesnar might return to WWE programming although as mentioned, SummerSlam on August 21 is when is next WWE PPV match is supposed to be. Hopefully he’s not too hurt from the fight to make it there.

I know people may ask why we are covering this, so here’s my explanation. We will remain a wrestling site focused on WWE stuff, but Lesnar is a WWE start that has crossed over into UFC, so we feel like it’s worth covering here.

It’s such a unique time to see WWE working with UFC on this. Never really been done before. Lesnar’s the reason for it.