If Saturday night’s UFC 199 hadn’t been incredible enough, an announcement during the pay-per-view shocked both the MMA and pro wrestling worlds: Brock Lesnar will be returning to the octagon for the first time in five years and will fight at UFC 200.
On Monday, Lesnar announced on ESPN that his opponent for (what is scheduled to be) his one-night-only return to mixed martial arts will be noted knockout artist Mark Hunt. He then spent some quality time playing with a lovely puppy, because he certainly had a full weekend and everyone can always stand to unwind a bit.
But on Monday evening, Paul Heyman released an exclusive one-on-one sitdown interview on his Heyman Hustle YouTube channel. The conversation, which you can watch above, begins with Heyman asking Lesnar, “Why?”
Lesnar says the reason he’s returning to UFC is because he wants to, which is the only reason anyone should do anything. He went on to say that he didn’t leave UFC on his own terms last time and he just wants to be inside the Octagon again, but healthy this time, and on his own terms.
With over five years of rest and preparation under his belt, no one will accuse Lesnar of being hurt or at less than 100 percent this time. He wants to create some new memories about being a mixed martial arts fighter, memories that will hopefully be happier this time around.
If he can manage to put away Mark Hunt on July 9, that will certainly put a cherry on the top of one of several careers this once-in-a-generation athlete has experienced.
