‘I’m WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar’ – Beast Incarnate says ‘the door is closed’ on another UFC comeback because he’s too old
Brock Lesnar says he’s done with the UFC and won’t change his mind.
The 44-year-old is a former UFC heavyweight champion but hasn’t fought since losing Mark Hunt at UFC 200. That result was later overturned after Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene .
That was in 2016. Since 2012, Lesnar has been a part-time WWE Superstar and that’s what he wants to be now.
“That door is closed,” Lesnar said of a return to the UFC. “You know what, Dana White, the Fertitta brothers [Lorenzo and Frank] were exceptional to me.
“I’m too old,” added Lesnar. “It’s a young man’s sport, and that door is closed. I’m Brock Lesnar, WWE Superstar.
Lesnar earns over $5m (about £3.8m) a year for his relatively restricted schedule in WWE. He can earn even more than that on merchandise and pay-per-view.
When you compare that to what he would earn to fight in the UFC, where he would have to train constantly, the smart move is to stick with pro wrestling.
In the summer of 2018, when Lesnar was 40 years old, “The Beast Incarnate” showed up to face Daniel Cormier after a title defense. UFC boss Dana White was openly planning this fight, but an injury to Cormier put him off and it never happened.
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“He told me he was done, he retired,” UFC president Dana White said in 2019, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “We are going to go in another direction with Cormier.”
Ariel Helwani confirmed the UFC ideas at the time and Lesnar was interested, but the longer it took, the more difficult the idea became.
“The UFC wants [Lesnar] back. Right now he wants to be back, and they’re giving him a heavyweight title fight if he comes back,” Helwani said.
“Daniel Cormier, the heavyweight champion, wants to fight him…it’s not signed yet, but that’s currently the plan.”
Lesnar exploded onto the scene as a WWE prodigy in 2002 and had one of the best rookie years in industry history when he won the King of the Ring, Royal Rumble and made the front page of WrestleMania, which he also won.
He beat The Rock – the biggest star in the business at the time – after just six months in WWE.
He left in 2004 and after a brief dream of playing in the NFL, he ended up taking the UFC by storm.
He only had nine fights and ended up with a 5-3 record and a no contest. Still, he was 5-1 before a bout of diverticulitis endangered not only his career, but his life.
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