After UFC 200 win, Brock Lesnar sure sounds like he's ready for more
LAS VEGAS – Brock Lesnar arrived at UFC 200 to fight for his reputation, his self-worth and maybe $10 million. His future? He had no idea and said he wouldn’t spend a minute thinking about it, not with the prospect of Mark Hunt’s violent hands across the cage.
After scoring a unanimous decision here Saturday, energizing the historic UFC card that needed it and filling himself with well-earned confidence, Lesnar sure sounded like a guy ready to give mixed martial arts another full-time go. That would mean potentially leaving the WWE behind. There was nothing official – far from it – but a beaming Lesnar, despite a bruised-up left eye, all but laid the groundwork for another go at the UFC.
He was happy: “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time.”
He was bold: “You can write what you want to write, but I think I’m the toughest [expletive … in the heavyweight division]. I’m right back in the game.”
He was determined despite potential contract restrictions with the WWE: “Well, let’s get one thing clear, Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do.”
His immediate future is set. He’ll match up with Randy Orton at next month’s WWE SummerSlam. After that, he said he’ll figure it out.
The WWE has been good to Lesnar. It made him rich. It made him famous. It’s where he met his wife. It’s taken him back through various disputes and dalliances. And Lesnar has been good for Vince McMahon’s operation, a natural showman and performer.
The scripted stuff can only take you so far, though. “The circus,” is how Lesnar always called it. The grind during his first stint in the UFC was brutal and led to personal struggles. Now he competes only on occasion, with time to retreat to the peace of Saskatchewan.
The UFC offers true competition, real danger and drama and challenges, the kind of stuff that appeals to a former NCAA Division I wrestling champion, a one-time Minnesota Viking training camp tryout (he nearly made it despite limited experience) and, of course, a former UFC heavyweight champion.
He’s a great actor, a natural. He’s also a real athlete.
Lesnar looked late Saturday night like a guy who’d been given a shot of adrenaline and credibility and was searching around for how he could get another hit.
“Hate to say it, but ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been a bully,” Lesnar said. “I just like getting my nose dirty. I never turned down a fight.”
Diverticulitis limited his training when he was UFC champion from 2008-10. It made life miserable and resulted in two defeats to end that phase of his career. At one point he had 12 inches of his colon removed and then fought three months later. “Who does that?” Lesnar asked.
Everything was a chore, which made his own insecurities – trying to prove he belonged – even worse. He was, in Dana White’s term, “a grump,” regularly feuding with opponents, management and fans.
“My prior training camps were pretty depressing camps,” Lesnar said. “I’d train for a couple days, take five days off [due to exhaustion from the diverticulitis]. Train two days and take a week off.”
This was different. A six-week camp to prepare for Hunt went well. Lesnar’s game plan of avoiding the knockout punch and moving the fight to the mat, where he could exploit his superior wrestling and then ground and pound offensively, was fully implemented. He even ended the old criticism that he couldn’t – or wouldn’t – take a punch. Hunt tagged him a couple times.
“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.”
Lesnar was happy all week. He arrived in Vegas with a new attitude – smiling, joking, relaxed. He tried to soak in the environment. He called himself blessed. A guy who rarely appears content, was just that. By Saturday night, walking out of the Octagon with his wife, the former wrestler Sable, he looked joyous.
It’s tough to imagine how pro wrestling can compete with that.
“I’m going to drink some Coors Light,” Lesnar said, with a laugh, resurrecting his infamous post-UFC 100 comments that angered the UFC, which has a sponsorship deal with Bud Light.
Here’s guessing no one cares now. Lesnar was a savior for this card, which lost a ton of competitive luster when Jon Jones got popped for performance-enhancing drugs on Wednesday to ruin the original main event.
Lesnar-Hunt will by no means be a contender for Fight of the Year, but Lesnar’s larger-than-life presence electrified an arena that was in dire need of it. The pounding opening notes of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” announcing the arrival of this mountain of a man can’t be duplicated. Lesnar received a $2.5 million guarantee to be here and some cut of the pay-per-view money that could be triple or quadruple that.
He’s an undeniable star. He can not only headline any pay-per-view going forward, but also deliver a massive audience even if he isn’t fighting for the UFC title. That said, he might again one day. Hunt was a legitimate top-10 heavyweight and a potential challenge for Lesnar because of his style. But Lesnar survived it.
He acknowledged he wasn’t perfect, that there was rust and indecisiveness. He also noted he trained for Hunt and would have a longer, different camp if he matched up with a different fighter, such as Cain Velasquez, who can match his wrestling ability.
“Cain looked good tonight,” Lesnar said of Velasquez’s performance-of-the-night victory over Travis Browne, perfectly setting the table. November in Madison Square Garden anyone?
Lesnar wasn’t lacking for confidence. He wasn’t scared of anyone. He wasn’t afraid of the future.
“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.”
That doesn’t sound like a guy who wants to leave now.
“Never say never,” he laughed.
He said enough.
