Brock Lesnar won’t be making anymore comebacks when it comes to his fighting career.
The former UFC heavyweight champion, who is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertaining, declared recently that he is officially done with mixed martial arts after he nearly returned to the octagon back in 2019 for a showdown with Daniel Cormier.
“That door is closed,” Lesnar told The New York Post. “You know what, Dana White, the Fertitta brothers [Lorenzo and Frank] were exceptional to me.”
Lesnar became one of the fastest rising stars in combat sports history after he inked a deal to join the UFC roster back in 2007. At the time, Lesnar was still a huge draw in the world of professional wrestling after he decided to join WWE following his run at the University of Minnesota where he was an NCAA heavyweight champion.
With his wrestling background and freak athletic abilities, Lesnar seemed like a natural fit in MMA.
In just his second professional fight, Lesnar suffered a loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir but he bounced back with a dominant victory over Heath Herring six months later.
Lesnar then claimed the UFC heavyweight title with a knockout over Randy Couture and he would go on to defend the belt two more times while avenging his loss to Mir and also defeating Shane Carwin.
A lopsided defeat to Cain Velasquez cost him the heavyweight championship and he suffered one more loss to Alistair Overeem before deciding to leave the UFC and return to WWE. It wasn’t until five years later when Lesnar once again got the itch to fight again and he made his return at UFC 200 where he dominated Mark Hunt for three rounds to win a unanimous decision.
That fight was later overturned to a no contest after Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene, a substance that’s banned in athletes at all times. Lesnar once again returned to WWE but then made a surprise appearance at UFC 226 when he got into a shoving match with Cormier just after he defeated Stipe Miocic to become heavyweight champion.
All signs pointed to Lesnar booking the fight with Cormier to make his return to the octagon but ultimately the matchup never came together. A year later, Lesnar was once again front and center for a potential comeback after former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones called him out for a fight but once again nothing ever came to fruition.
Lesnar, 44, has now shut down any hope that he might make one last run in the UFC after he signed a deal to stick with WWE where he’s currently scheduled to headline WrestleMania in April.
“I’m too old,” Lesnar said about fighting again. “That’s a young man’s sport, and that door is closed. I’m Brock Lesnar, the WWE Superstar.”
