Alistair Overeem Scoffs at Talk of Brock Lesnar Returning to UFC

Following the news that Brock Lesnar has finished up his WWE deal, speculation about whether the pro-wrestling star could return to the cage has been making the rounds…again. But, not only does Alistair Overeem not think we’ll see Lesnar fighting once more, the decorated heavyweight’s wondering who cares if he does or not?

Overeem asks “who cares about Brock”?

Although Lesnar hasn’t talked much about returning to the UFC in recent months, or fighting in MMA, now that he’s reportedly a free agent, stories about him possibly fighting again have resumed. Case in point, recently there’s been renewed buzz about Lesnar possibly fighting Jon Jones, or Fedor Emelianenko.

Ahead of Overeem’s bout Saturday with Augusto Sakai, the legendary heavyweight spoke with TMZ. Since Overeem was the last man to defeat Lesnar in the Octagon – he quickly took him out in 2011 – he was asked to comment on the recent talk about the powerful wrestler.

The dangerous fighter had this to say about his old foe (quotes via MMA Fighting).

“I don’t think he’s gonna come back,” Overeem said. “He’s 43 years old. To be honest, I don’t think he’s gonna come back.

The last time he came back, it was a debacle so I don’t think he’s gonna come back. I was wrong about the last time though, because I predicted the same thing.

It actually did become a debacle, but we’ll see what happens.”

“I beat him up,” Overeem said. “So if somebody wants a rematch, it would be him. I already did it.

Why would I chase him? Who cares about Brock? Which fans? He’s not coming back.

He’s 43 years old, he’s flunked tests, it’s over with him. He’s not coming back.

Last time the waived the testing for him and still he got into trouble. It’s been a debacle. He’s not gonna come back.

Listen, if he does, all hats off to him, but I don’t think he’s gonna come back.”

Do MMA fans care?

So, there’s a couple of things to look at here. First off, is Overeem likely right that we won’t see Lesnar fighting again? Probably.

As Overeem noted, Lesnar is 43 now, and back in 2018 the UFC was willing to have him fight Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight title. Ultimately, however, Lesnar opted to go back to pro-wrestling.

So, there’s certainly reasons to think we won’t see Lesnar back in the cage, unless someone makes him an offer he can’t refuse.

And do fans care if Lesnar returns for another fight?

There’s no question that if Lesnar did agree to fight, say, Jon Jones, the bout would be massive. After all, Lesnar remains a mainstream star.

But, there does seem to be an air of malaise about Lesnar fighting again, among hardcore fans. Lesnar’s win over Mark Hunt in 2016 was overturned after he tested positive for banned substances, and his last official victory took place all the way back in 2010.