Brock Lesnar Says UFC Initially Wanted Nothing To Do With Him: ‘I Had No Credibility’

Brock Lesnar says he wasn’t initially welcomed into the UFC with open arms, explaining why the company initially wanted nothing to do with him. Lesnar had a short but successful run in the UFC, winning the UFC Heavyweight Title in only his third fight for the company in 2008. He would leave the UFC in 2011 with a 5-3 MMA record, returning in 2016 for a fight with Mark Hunt that was marred by his testing positive for clomiphene. Hunt sued the UFC and Lesnar over the fight, though it was ultimately dismissed.

Lesnar recalled joining the company in his appearance on Barstool Sports’ Spittin’ Chiclets. He spoke about how Dana White wouldn’t return his calls and how he managed to get White to give him a shot, noting that he doesn’t blame White for not being interested at first because he had “no credibility” at the time. You can see the highlights below (per PWInsider):

On Where He Was Financially When He Joined the UFC:

“So when I got cut from the Vikings, the IRS showed up at my doorstep. I was in a custody battle for my daughter, and I was getting sued by Vince McMahon for a non-compete. It was a tough time in my life from ’04 to ’06. So there were people—and I won’t mention them—that helped me through those times. And I was able to get on my feet again. And I thank them a lot. And they know who they are, but they helped me out and got me stable and they believed in me. There is nothing more powerful, you guys, than people and relationships and other human beings that believe in you. You need that circle, right? And it’s no different than in the dressing room. If you walk into that dressing room, guys, you know right away that you can either get elevated or eliminated. So I had a lot of that. I had a lot of that. So relationships for me are the most important thing. And that’s why I tell my kids, you need relationships with your coaches.”

On Dealing With Dana White:

“The UFC—Dana White wanted nothing to do with me. I didn’t know that. He wouldn’t return my phone calls. So what happened was, I fought at the L.A. Coliseum for K-1 Dynamite, and then I wanted to get into the big leagues, and there was only one big league at the time. It was the UFC. So my team reached out and wanted to do something with the UFC. So guys, this is how bad this is, this is the stuff that you have to do. So I said, ‘Screw it.’ I bought four nosebleed tickets to the MGM. Randy Couture was headlining against Gabriel Gonzaga for the Heavyweight Championship.

“I sat there in the stands through the entire event, and as soon as Randy won that fight, I scaled security and ran to the octagon and grabbed Dana. And I introduced myself. I said, ‘I’m Brock Lesnar.’ We went to the back and he says, ‘Listen, I’ll give you a shot.’ So he gave me a one-fight deal. I said, ‘Take a gamble on me.’ And so he gave me a one-shot deal and I lost that fight against Frank Mir. And I went back to the locker room and I was like, ‘I screwed it up.’ Dana comes in and he’s—because they know the pay-per-view versus instantly, so the numbers must’ve been really good—and at that point Dana’s like, ‘No, you’re not done.’ And then the next day we negotiated a real contract.”

On Why White Has No Interest In Him:

“Because I had no credibility. Okay. And I don’t blame him. I was an amateur wrestler and a fake entertainer, and so he didn’t care. I fought a tomato can my first fight, I beat him in 90 seconds, and whatever, I didn’t prove myself yet. So he threw me to the wolves. He said, ‘I’m not giving you any easy fights.’ My first fight is against Frank. He’s a—I don’t know how many times defending champion at the time. A lethal dude. He almost broke my leg in half. So he’s the real deal. So it was just one of those things where I had to prove myself to him.”