It’s always hard to walk away from something we love, but on this day in wrestling history, Brock Lesnar retired for the first of three times from MMA fight and the UFC.
Lesnar had a good run in MMA before discovering he was suffered from diverticulitis and nearly lost his life to the ailment he said felt like a “shotgun blast to the stomach.”
14 months later, he was slated to face Alistar Overeem at UFC 141. He said he promised his wife (Sable) that he would retire if he lost, and if he won he would retire after his next fight.
As luck would have it, he lost to Overeem by TKO and Lesnar retired the following day.
Return to WWE
With his retirement done, he returned to the WWE four months later after being gone for eight years and it felt like he never left as his presence helped fans inject more energy into the product.
But there was always talk about him returning to the octagon when his contract expired after WrestleMania 31.
Despite claiming he was done with MMA, he returned in a once off appearance against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 where he won by unanimous decision.
Unfortunately, the ruling was later changed to no contest after he failed two drug tests (one the day of UFC 200) and he was suspended a full year retroactively to July and fined 10% of his purse from the event: $250k from a record $2.5 million purse.
Lesnar still had the WWE to earn a living as he was still listed as a part timer with them and he continued to wrestle.
He returned to MMA once again, but then retired in 2019, this time for good. Or until the next good deal or itch comes along.
Continuous part timer
Much to fans’ chagrin, Lesnar remains a part timer in the WWE but his recent return as a face to battle Roman Reigns has people talking again and he usually has as big a pop as Reigns.
It just shows fans appreciate him for the talent he is and despite some still arguing against him winning he would be the perfect one to unseat Reigns.
It seems he’s content with the life he has and isn’t interested in going back to UFC any time soon, but then this is just a feeling we get.
It’s an interesting back and forth legacy Lesnar has built over the last decade or so and it’s an fun addition to this day in wrestling history moments.
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