Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has announced his retirement from professional wrestling following his appearance at WWE SummerSlam this past weekend.
While industry insiders had speculated that Lesnar might resume his part-time schedule past this weekend’s event, the 49-year old appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday to announce his retirement.
Lesnar last competed in MMA in 2016 in an ill-fated fight with Mark Hunt (Lesnar won the bout, only to see it overturned to a No Contest after failing a drug test, leading to a lawsuit against the UFC by Hunt). He briefly flirted with a return to the cage a few years later before resuming his professional wrestling career, which began in 2000 with the developmental Ohio Valley Wrestling, leading to his 2002 debut with the WWE.
“The Next Big Thing” made an immediate impact, but later left pro wrestling when the busy schedule and travel became unbearable. The NCAA Division I wrestling champ then walked onto the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings during training camp in 2004, despite having been injured in a car crash, and played in several pre-season games. He was eventually offered a contract with the team’s European affiliate, but declined, wishing to remain stateside with his family.
That led to a run in MMA that saw him capture the UFC heavyweight championship and earn wins over the likes of Frank Mir, Randy Couture, and Shane Carwin. He’d later return to the WWE, shifting from “The Next Big Thing” to “The Beast Incarnate” (or just “The Beast”) and going on to win more titles in the scripted world of professional wrestling.
On Tuesday, however, Lesnar confirmed that his time in the ring (and the cage) was over.
“I’m here today to do this interview to let the world and everybody know that I am retired and I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody,” Lesnar said on the show (h/t MMA Fighting). “Saturday was a very emotional day for me. It’s kind of weird because—When Oba Femi slammed me at WrestleMania, I was like, I can’t do this again. I was like, ‘I think I’m done.’ But the business and I still have fuel in the tank but Saturday for Brock Lesnar, that’s it. That’s it for me in the squared circle and for everything else, too.”
Lesnar, who now resides in Canada (he represented the country at UFC 200), said his plan now is to focus on his children. “I’ve got some hunting lined up and I’ve got two boys in hockey, I’m going to support that, their dreams as long as that’s feasible,” Lesnar said. “My daughter, she’s got her eye on the 2028 Olympics. Just going to spend more time with the kids in the woods and just reap what I’ve sewn. Just enjoy life.”
In addition to being an NCAA Division I heavyweight champ and UFC heavyweight champion, Lesnar is a 7-time WWE champion, a 3-time WWE Universal champion, and the 2002 King of the Ring. He won the Royal Rumble in 2003, and again in 2022.
