Brock Lesnar has understandably been the talk of the town since it was unveiled that the former champion would be returning to face Mark Hunt at UFC 200 at June 4’s UFC 199 from Los Angeles.
The decorated former UFC heavyweight champion has been out of fighting for almost five years, and he’s returning to face quite possibly the heaviest hitter in UFC history when he does.
But true to form, the always confident Lesnar believes this bout is his to win, telling ESPN that he matches up ‘very well’ with Hunt despite most pundits and fans believing the opposite to be true due to his supposed disdain for getting punched:
“I’m a grappler at heart, he’s a heavy hitter and that’s what the people want to see. The UFC ultimately culminated because we’re going to put guys with opposing disciplines against each other. I think I match up very well. Obviously, I need to work on my stand up game but I’m excited and enthusiastic of doing so. That’s the difference.”
Lesnar predictably put the onus of his performance on his NCAA Division I championship-level pedigree, an area in which Hunt hasn’t exactly been the most glaring example of success (just like Lesnar hasn’t been in the standup game). With that established, Lesnar boldly predicted that his ground game will be key, and if Hunt indeed hits the ground, the fight will be over:
“He’s a heavy-hitting, hard-headed human being and hopefully my athleticism and my Octagon awareness and all those things and my wrestling background can play a key factor in me winning this fight.
“If Mark Hunt ends up on the ground, the fight’s over.”
As for his extremely long break from MMA, Lesnar doesn’t foresee that being a problem, nor does he envision his age (38 years) being one, either. Lesnar cited Dan Henderson’s exhilarating recent knockout of Hector Lombard at UFC 199 as proof that age is not a determining factor:
“I don’t really have any concerns. Hopefully we get the rust out in training camp and I think we are. We will. If not, the first punch from Mark will knock the rest of the rust off in the first 10 seconds and then look out.
“Age is not a factor I don’t believe. I really don’t. You’ve got a guy like Dan Henderson, just Saturday night, he’s 46 years old and fighting like he’s a young man. I feel great. I’m excited for this fight.”
Even after shooting down any possible criticism of his comeback, however, Lesnar rightfully acknowledged he’s in for a tough test against Hunt:
“It’s a tough challenge ahead of me. I believe Mark has a tough challenge ahead of him. He’s never faced an opponent such as myself and I’m looking forward to this bout.”
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