Brock Lesnar on Stephanie McMahon UFC comments: 'I don't care what she says'
WWE isn't a huge fan of Brock Lesnar competing at UFC 200? Pardon Lesnar is he doesn't give a damn.
In an interview this week with Business Insider, UFC chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon said WWE was "not supporting the fight necessarily" regarding Lesnar's bout July 9 against Mark Hunt in Las Vegas. Lesnar, who had not heard the comment, responded rather succinctly -- and in true Lesnar fashion -- in a media conference call Thursday.
"I don't know," Lesnar said with a laugh. "I don't care what she says."
There doesn't seem to be too much drama here. When Lesnar was announced as fighting at UFC 200, WWE put out a press release explaining the situation and giving UFC 200 somewhat of a shoutout. McMahon explained to Business Insider that there were positives to Lesnar fighting Hunt.
"In Brock Lesnar's case it was really a special case that we are allowing him to do this fight," McMahon said. "But like you said it's not really a cross-promotional opportunity, but we are allowing him to participate in that fight.
"We are not supporting the fight necessarily but, again, it's not a competitor to us and the more that our superstars, that's how we refer to our talent, the more they do outside of WWE, the more awareness it generates and the broader the audience can be that is then brought back into our properties. So we recognize the value of that."
Lesnar, 38, was asked Thursday how his WWE drawing power would be affected if he lost to Hunt and he responded: "I really don't give a sh*t."
If there is one thing clear about Lesnar's return it's that he's doing it for himself after what he describes as being "forced" from the Octagon the last time back in 2011 due to diverticulitis. As for everything and everyone else, they don't matter nearly as much.
"This isn't about my fans," said Lesnar, who was the biggest pay-per-view draw in UFC history. "This is about me living my life, being the person that I want to be. Granted, without the fans and everything, none of us would be able to do this. I get that. But I don't sit up at night wondering is my drawing power gonna be hurt or are my WWE fans gonna tune in and watch me do this. I don't give two sh*ts about that. This is about me. I want to get in there and be an athlete again. That's what this is about."
WWE described Lesnar's UFC fight as a "one-off" in its release and McMahon called it a "special case." Lesnar will be back in WWE for SummerSlam next month.
Lesnar (5-3), a former UFC heavyweight champion, said he wasn't sure if he'll fight Hunt and then never step inside the cage again. He left the door open for another bout in the future.
"I don't know," Lesnar said. "I feel really good. 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 Overeem and kind of forced out of the cage because of my illness it haunted me for a long time. Well what do you do? Well, here I am. And before it's too late, I want to get back in the cage and have fun with it."