News broke over the weekend that Brock Lesnar would be making his return to mixed martial arts this summer at UFC 200. On Monday, the UFC/WWE star revealed who he’s set to square off against in that bout.
Lesnar announced during a guest appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” that his UFC 200 opponent will be New Zealand-born heavyweight Mark Hunt.
“It could be anybody,” Lesnar told ESPN’s Hannah Storm, via UFC.com. “I didn’t care. That’s how simple it is. I’ve never turned down a fight in the UFC. I think I match up very well (with Hunt). If Mark ends up on the ground, the fight’s over. Obviously, I need to work on my standup game, but I’m excited and enthusiastic about doing so. That’s the difference.”
A former UFC heavyweight champion, Lesnar hasn’t fought on the circuit since losing to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on Dec. 30, 2011. Since then, the 38-year-old has participated exclusively in WWE — notably defeating John Cena to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and ending the Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak at WrestleMania XXX — and he is expected to return to the pro wrestling promotion after his bout with Hunt.
“I couldn’t live with that decision (to retire from UFC),” Lesnar told Storm. “It was a hard decision to make, and that decision has haunted me. I couldn’t live with that decision for the rest of my life. I’m a big believer in living out your dreams and facing your fears and facing the reality of I don’t want to be sitting 20 years from now, saying ‘You know what, son, you should have went and did that. And here I am.”
Lesnar is 5-3-0 in his UFC career. Hunt is 12-10-1, most recently defeating Frank Mir via first-round knockout at UFC Fight Night 85 in March.
