Why Brock Lesnar signed with the WWE not the UFC

Brock Lesnar had interest from the WWE, the UFC, and Bellator. In the end, he chose the squared circle over the Octagon. The former UFC heavyweight champion made the announcement Tuesday, on ESPN’s SportsCenter.”

It was a very hard decision for me. It’s hard to talk about it, said Lesnar, as transcribed by Tristen Critchfield for Sherdog. The fighter inside of me wants to compete. I’m an older caveman now, so I make wiser caveman decisions. I’m here to say that my legacy in the Octagon is over. However, my legacy this Sunday at WrestleMania will not be my last.

I thought about this for a year. At the end of the day, it’s all about me wanting to have fun. The money is great, but the lifestyle … For the last two months I’ve been training; I’ve been training to get back in the Octagon. I felt physically great, but something lacked mentally, and that’s not good.

I’m officially closing the door on MMA. I re-signed last night with the WWE. We’re pretty good at keeping secrets, even in today’s age of technology. We came to a conclusion last night and the offer on the table I just could not refuse.”

I went to the Rousey fight just to experience and to have that feeeling. It wasn’t a contractual move or a bartering pitch. For me, I wanted to feel that energy. It just so happened it was Ronda Rousey. If it would have been anybody, I would have went to the fight.

I talked with Dana, I talked with Lorenzo, I talked to Vince McMahon, I talked to my wife, I talked with my friends. I had many sleepless nights on what to do. At the end of the day it weighted heavily on my heart: I was born to be an entertainer, and I have fun doing it.

I could go back to the Octagon, and what am I gonna gain? I was the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. Due to my illness, my career got cut short. That’s God telling you, ‘Hey it’s time to move on’ and maybe it’s a bump in the road for me, but as the years went by it wore on me so much that the fighter inside me didn’t want it to end that way. I didn’t want it to be like that. I didn’t want to leave the UFC on a losing streak. That’s just the competitive guy inside of me.

You can’t force somebody to get in the cage and fight. That’s not the business. And that’s where I was. Was my heart and my head really into it? What are the reasons why I want to go in there? Because I don’t like the way it ended? Or, really what is it? At the end of the day I’m really happy where I’m at with the WWE.

In an ESPN interview, Brock showed remarkable candor, and said UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta made a 12th hour effort to sign him.

“Lorenzo said to me, ‘Can we sharpen our pencil? Can we double it'” said Lesnar. “I said, ‘It’s not about that. I’m calling you to tell you where my heart is, and it’s not about the money.’

“And then in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Well, yeah, it is about the money, but I don’t have to beat myself up for it.’ To prepare for another MMA fight, we’re talking 16, 18 weeks of pure hell, and then the cage door shuts and it’s on.”

Brock Lesnar won the UFC heavyweight championship his fourth fight, and defended it twice, becoming the biggest PPV draw in the sport. Then he lost the title to Cain Velasquez in the first. Then he got kicked in the illness by Alistair Overeem.

And now he will fight no more for real forever.

UFC president Dana White offered kind words about the former champ.

I’m happy for him, said White during an appearing on At The Buzzer. He was always a stand up guy. Even this – I knew this three hours ago. He called us and let us know.

“First of all, from what I heard, Vince made him a deal he couldn’t refuse, which is awesome. I’m happy to hear that. I’m happy for both of them.

This is a sport where you have to be all-in. Brock had a really good stint here. He did some amazing things and it was fun to have him.