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PWTorch editor Wade Keller presents a special Thursday Flagship edition of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast featuring a WrestleMania 36 Preview with ex-WWE Creative Team member and professional stand-up comedian Matt McCarthy.
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Part-time WWE star Brock Lesnar says he was actually talking to UFC about returning to fighting at the end of the year in New York. However, the return fight at UFC 200 in July came together at the last hour.
“I wasn’t sure if it was even gonna happen,” Lesnar said during a UFC 200 conference call on Thursday. “Before my call to Dana (White), I wasn’t even sure if this thing was gonna happen at UFC 200. We had talked and thought maybe we could put something together by November for New York. But, I’ll fight wherever the money’s right. We took it to the eleventh hour and that’s where we’re at. It is what it is.”
Lesnar said he’s been training “four or five weeks” trying to get ready for the fight next Saturday, July 9. After that, he’s not sure if he will fight again. (WWE has labeled this a “one-off” opportunity for Lesnar before he returns to WWE for Summerslam in August.)
“Training camp is going great. I’m happy. I’m happy with my life, I’m happy with everything. Since I left the Octagon after I got beat by (Alistair) Overeem and was kind of forced out of the cage because of my illness, it haunted me for a long time. Here I am. Before it’s too late I wanted to get back in the cage and have fun with it,” Lesnar said.
“This is all about having fun. I’m not looking past this fight. I’m just taking it one day at a time, one training session at a time, and I’m looking forward to July 9. I’m grateful that Mark Hunt took the fight. It was short notice for me and him, so we’ll see what happens on the 9th.”
Asked if a potential loss to Hunt will affect his draw when he returns to WWE, Lesnar said, “I don’t have a s—.” The message was similar about drug accusations from Hunt in the build-up to the fight.
Asked what he thinks Stephanie McMahon meant when she recently said that WWE is not necessarily supporting Brock’s UFC 200 fight, Lesnar thought about it, then replied, “I don’t know. I don’t care what she says,” and laughed.
Lesnar went further into his distance from the “WWE environment” since WrestleMania in April.
“I really haven’t had any contact with anyone from WWE. The people I really care about are the people that are close to me,” Lesnar said. “Everybody is supporting this and 100 percent behind it. They see that I’m committed to it and I’m happy. That’s all that matters.”
[ Full Recap & Quotes at MMATorch.com ]