Current WWE & UFC Superstar Brock Lesnar (4-3) was a special guest on this morning’s ESPN SportsCenter.
During his appearance he said that he could not live with the decision to retire from UFC and that has led to his return at UFC 200. He went on to talk about wanting to face his fears and not live his life with regret.
Brock also said that he still feels the competitor in himself and tried to convince himself that he could get some of the same rush of fighting in WWE. He feels that his fighting career was cut short by Diverticulitis but he is now feeling “1000%”.
He then announced that Mark Hunt (7-4-1) will be his opponent at UFC 200 on July 9th. He said that there wasn’t any particular reason for Hunt other than that’s who UFC wanted him to face. Lesnar also noted that Hunt is a hard puncher while he is a grappler which makes this an enticing pairing.
No one from UFC called Brock Lesnar according to him. This was his own call and he picked up the phone to call Dana White about the fight. He said, “What are the chances of having Brock Lesnar on the UFC 200 card.” Lesnar said he then went and had a “big boy conversation” with Vince McMahon about it and then referred to himself as, “Big Business.” He also refers to himself as the, “Modern day Bo Jackson.”
He also said that he is honored to be working for WWE and UFC. He wouldn’t say exactly how much he is making for the fight tho he grinned ear to ear and laughed when asked the question. He would say there are, “a bunch of zeros.”
Lesnar wouldn’t rule out the idea that this was his last fight for UFC. He did say that he is still scheduled for SummerSlam though he doesn’t know who he will be facing yet.
Before beginning his training for the fight he waited to get a final, “yes,” from Dana White. Dana didn’t think Brock was serious when he originally called him. What finally sealed the deal was making sure everyone was on the same page as well as his health being accounted for.
Brock Lesnar said he doesn’t know who Ariel Helwani is and that he isn’t familiar with the story about him being banned for life.
When asked about Conor McGregor saying he was the biggest box office star at the moment he said he didn’t mind if people wanted to, “talk the talk.”
On Muhammad Ali’s passing Lesnar said he met Ali one time and that all he remembered was that when he shook his hand he didn’t have to say anything. He said it was a gracious handshake and that he, “felt something powerful from the man.” He’s watched all of his fights but never spoke a word to him. He calls him, “one of the greatest” who, “talked the talk and walked the walk.” He calls it a tragedy that he had to live with Parkinson’s and sends his condolences to his family.
In regards to his legacy he says that if he can shake a man’s hand and give him the same chill Ali gave him then that’s what he cares about. It’s up to other people to determine his legacy. He’s not, “shallow in his soul,” and doesn’t concern himself with legacy.
