WWE’s Brock Lesnar on returning to the octagon for UFC 200: ‘I’m a modern-day Bo Jackson’

Former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar announced Monday he will return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 200 July 9 against veteran striker Mark Hunt.

Lesnar, 38, hasn’t fought in the organization since New Year’s Eve 2011, when he was knocked out by Alistair Overeem in the first round. He has performed in WWE in the interim and said on an ESPN appearance Monday that he will return to that organization’s Summer Slam event in August.

“I’m a modern-day Bo Jackson,” Lesnar said.

The WWE announced during the weekend that Lesnar’s UFC 200 appearance is a “one-off opportunity.”

Lesnar said while sipping a cup of coffee at his farm in Canada earlier this year that he was motivated to fight in the UFC again after rejecting a temptation to return last year.

“I couldn’t live with that decision [not to return]. That decision has haunted me,” Lesnar said. “I figured I couldn’t live like that the rest of my life. I’m a big believer in living out my dreams, facing your fears and facing the reality of, I don’t want to be sitting here 20 years from now and be saying, ‘You should’ve went and did that.’

“On the biggest stage of all? I was on UFC 100 [defeating Frank Mir in a July 2009 title defense], so why not UFC 200? The true competitor in me is alive and well. I have to do this.”

The anticipated card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas will include the light-heavyweight championship between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, a women’s bantamweight title fight between champion Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes and the interim featherweight bout between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.

Lesnar’s time in the UFC was hampered by layoffs due to the painful intestinal illness diverticulitis. “At the top of my career, I felt I wasn’t at the top of my game. I felt like I was cheated out of my career in the UFC. In my mind and my heart, I never lost to a foe. I lost to diverticulitis. My performance was due to the illness. I’m sitting here today feeling 1,000 percent.”

In Hunt, 42, Lesnar faces a 12-10-1 veteran from Australia who’s ranked No. 8 in the division and followed back-to-back losses to current heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former champion Fabricio Werdum by posting consecutive knockouts over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in November and Mir on March 19.

Lesnar said UFC President Dana White told him, “‘This is the opponent we want you to face.’ I said, ‘Fine.’

“I’m a grappler at heart. [Hunt] is a heavy hitter. That’s what the public wanted,” Lesnar said. “The UFC [started] because, ‘We’re going to put guys with opposing disciplines against each other.’ I think we match up very well. If Mark Hunt ends up on the ground, fight’s over. I need to work on my stand-up game. I’m excited about doing so.”

Lesnar indicated he’s only started serious training recently, discussing a morning swim Sunday.

He said he initiated contact with White three months ago, insisting it wasn’t driven by the UFC with the high-profile card missing the UFC’s most popular fighters, Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.

He said he had a “big-boy conversation,” with WWE head Vince McMahon to negotiate the arrangement.

“I’m a prizefighter. Titles don’t pay the bills,” Lesnar said. “I fight for money. I’m making money, they’re making money, everyone’s making money. That’s what this is all about. … This is in my heart, but I’m making a boatload of money.”

He didn’t disclose what the UFC is paying him, saying his purse will have “lots of zeros behind it.”

Lesnar said he was unaware of the controversy attached to his return. After mmafighting.com reporter Ariel Helwani reported Lesnar’s return before the UFC officially announced it, the organization ordered Helwani to leave the Forum Saturday night before the UFC 199 main event.

“I don’t even know who that is,” Lesnar said of Helwani. “ … The only thing I care about is me.”

Regarding a possible continued run in the UFC, Lesnar said that if he wins convincingly, “We’ll cross that road when it comes to that.”