Brock Lesnar’s return to the world of MMA was a huge deal even before he failed two different USADA drug tests and is now facing potential punishment. (Well, punishment that won’t affect his payday or his WWE status, or really much of anything, anyway.) He won against Mark Hunt handily at UFC 200 and even though Hunt is livid about Lesnar’s failed tests, the Beast Incarnate has at least one very outspoken supporter: Ric Flair, the dirtiest player in the game! That’s a good person to have on your side regarding failed drug tests, right?
On the third episode of The Ric Flair Show podcast, the 16-time world champion and two-time WWE Hall of Famer took a few minutes to talk about the Lesnar situation. Flair not only said that any potential PEDs that Lesnar may have taken “in no way” affected the outcome of the fight. What’s more, he doesn’t think PEDs have any benefit to athletics beyond “cosmetic issues.” (Thanks to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.)
“After watching that [fight at UFC 200], I don’t care what anybody was on. Brock Lesnar dominated [Mark Hunt]. It’s like people talking about PEDs with baseball players, right? I promise you, they do not help hand/eye coordination. If you hit the ball, it might go farther, but there’s nothing you can put in the needle and inject in your body that’s going to make your hand/eye coordination [better]. I could take steroids for 150 years and not hit a 100 mile [an hour] fastball.
“If anything, over the years, PEDs were used for appearance sakes and God knows I have some huge cosmetic issues. I should have been on it forever. But I can tell you this: this in no way, shape, or form makes Brock Lesnar a star. Does that make sense? I mean, he’s a huge, huge player there.”
Okay, dude. You’re right: performance enhancing drugs are definitely not known for enhancing anyone’s performance, ever. That math totally checks out.
Flair has a point in some ways — that fight was very dominant on Lesnar’s behalf, and the guy has been an athletic freak of nature for the better part of two decades between incidences of pissing hot. But in other ways: no, Ric. Just … no.
