Just in case you thought Lesnar might be interested in dipping his toes in Ultimate Fighting Championship waters one more time, the former heavyweight champion shut that notion down in a recent interview with the New York Post.
“That door is closed,” Lesnar said. “You know what, Dana White, the Fertitta brothers [Lorenzo and Frank] were exceptional to me.”
Lesnar appeared at Madison Square Garden for a live WWE event this past Saturday. Next month, he is slated to defend his WWE belt in a title unification bout against Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 38 on April 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. As far as Lesnar is concerned, sports entertainment is where he’ll remain.
“I’m too old,” Lesnar said. “That’s a young man’s sport, and that door is closed. I’m Brock Lesnar, the WWE Superstar.”
Though rumors of a Lesnar return to the UFC have persisted over the years — including a faceoff in the Octagon with Daniel Cormier after “DC” bested Stipe Miocic in the UFC 226 headliner — the former University of Minnesota wrestling standout hasn’t stepped into the Octagon since 2016, when he defeated Mark Hunt at UFC 200. That result was later overturned when Lesnar failed a pair of drug tests in relation to the event. Lesnar never came to terms with the UFC for a potential blockbuster fight against Cormier, and though others have expressed interest in a bout against the massive heavyweight — most notably Jon Jones — nothing has come to fruition.
Lesnar claimed heavyweight gold with a second-round TKO of Randy Couture at UFC 91 and defended the belt twice with finishes of Frank Mir and Shane Carwin. He relinquished the crown in a first-round TKO loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 before falling to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 and announcing his first retirement in the aftermath.