Former heavyweight champion and WWE superstar Brock Lesnar made a successful return to the UFC Octagon by defeating arguably the most powerful puncher in the history of MMA in Mark Hunt during the co-main event of last night’s (Sat., July 9, 2016) UFC 200 pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The bout was a supposed one-off opportunity from his employers at the WWE, who received a significant promotion for their upcoming SummerSlam PPV as compensation for allowing Lesnar to return while under contract with their company. However, if you listen to Lesnar’s side of the tale in his post-fight press conference after UFC 200, it doesn’t exactly seem like he’s quite ready to hang up the four ounce gloves just yet.
The fan favorite “Beast,” whose initial UFC tenure was cut sort by a devastating bout with diverticulitis, focused on how great he now feels physically, claiming how his renewed ability to train translated into a one-sided win over the No. 8-ranked heavyweight after four-and-a-half years out of the cage in his own personal press conference (transcribed by Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole):
“The whole training camp was different,” Lesnar said. “I mean, my training camps five years ago were pretty depressing camps. I’d train for a couple of days and take five days off; train for three days and take a week off. Come on, I had 12 inches of my colon removed, [and] jumped back into the Octagon three months later. Who does that [expletive]? I’ve been gone five years. I stepped into the Octagon tonight against a guy ranked No. 8 in the world. Write what you want to write, but I think I’m the toughest [expletive] out there. I’m right in the game. I’ve got some work to do, but don’t we all?”
Lesnar was expectedly asked if he would continue fighting, namely in a rematch against former champion Cain Velasquez, who won Lesnar’s belt in 2010 and was victorious over Travis Browne at UFC 200, despite his win’s billing as one-time deal. He responded that while he’d obviously need more training, the fight does interest him:
“Sure, absolutely,” he said when asked if he’d like a rematch with Velasquez. “I trained specifically for Mark Hunt. I trained six weeks for Mark Hunt, but if I decide I’m going to do this a little further, I’d have to sharpen my skills, but yeah.”
As for his most recent win over Hunt, Lesnar stated he was proud of himself for making the hard decision to return and face the top level of UFC heavyweights at his age:
“I’m a 39-year-old man and I’m pretty proud of myself,” Lesnar said. “I’m older…when I decided to make this comeback it was a hard decision. I’m glad I did it. If you don’t stick your neck out, you’re not going to accomplish anything.”
Lesnar was also able to weather the lethal, world-class striking power of “The Super Samoan” to batter the tough-as-nails Aussie with an endless downpour of ground strikes, but wasn’t able to put Hunt away. He cited his ability to take a shot to his doubters, and also praised Hunt for his ability to absorb his blows (via Iole):
“The mystery is gone,” Lesnar said. “I guess I can take a shot … I wanted to finished the fight. The guy’s got a coconut head. … He never knocked the [expletive] out of me, [though], and here I am. I’m happy.”
His all-out attitude significantly bolstered by a return no one thought we’d actually see – and in victory, no less – Lesnar proclaimed that MMA fans may not have seen the last of him:
“Never say never.”
Closing in classic Lesnar style, the hulking star elicited quite a reaction when he said the exact same words that got him into so much trouble after his win over Frank Mir 100 UFC pay-per-views ago:
“I’m going to drink some Coors Light.”
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