Brock Lesnar open to fight again after UFC 200

MANILA, Philippines – “Never say never” were the exact words that Brock Lesnar said when he was asked about the possibility of seeing himself inside the Octagon again after his UFC 200 stint against Mark Hunt on Saturday, July 9 (Sunday, July 10 in Manila).

The 38-year-old native of Webster, South Dakota admittedly could not live with the disappointing feeling that he made a mistake when he decided to hang up his 4-ounce gloves nearly 6 years ago.

Lesnar saw his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career interrupted by diverticulitis, a common digestive disease which involves the formation of pouches within the bowel wall.

After relinquishing the UFC heavyweight title to Cain Velasquez in October 2010 and then suffering a first-round stoppage loss to Alistair Overeem 14 months later, Lesnar opted to walk away.

While sitting on the sidelines, Lesnar somehow realized that he had closed the door too soon and asked the UFC for a second chance to prove his worth as a prizefighter.

The world’s premier MMA promotion acceded to Lesnar’s request and booked him for the UFC 200 pay-per-view card against Hunt.

Lesnar’s fight versus Hunt is supposed to be a one-off deal before he returns to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for SummerSlam in August, where he’ll face a returning Randy Orton, but he is considering the idea of another future UFC fight down the road.

“This may be a teaser, I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. I have no idea,” he stated during a press conference on Thursday, July 7 (Manila time).

Lesnar, who returned to WWE in 2012, refused to speculate if Vince McMahon will allow him to compete once more under the UFC banner.

“I guess that’s not a question for me. That’s a question for Vince McMahon,” he asserted. “I don’t know. We’ll get through Saturday and see what happens. I have no idea. After Saturday, I think I’m booked for August.”

Although odds are stacked against Lesnar to have his hand raised in triumph, he remains optimistic that he will have the last laugh in his marquee match-up with Hunt.

“Obviously, I’m here to win a fight but it’s fighting and anything can happen. But I’m prepared for whatever. I don’t think it’s going to define me. I’m just happy to be here. I really am. It’s no bulls–t. This is exciting. I’m on the card at UFC 200,” he expressed.

The heavyweight duel between Lesnar and Hunt will be the co-featured fight underneath the Miesha Tate vs Amanda Nunes bantamweight fight, which has been promoted to the main event after the second light heavyweight title encounter between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones was cancelled.

Jones was notified of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition drug test administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on June 16. – Rappler.com