Brock Lesnar Announces Retirement From Wrestling

Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is walking away from professional wrestling for good.

Lesnar told Pat McAfee on Tuesday that he is officially retiring from the business, according to MMA Fighting. The 49-year-old last appeared at WWE's SummerSlam event Saturday in Minneapolis, where he lost to Oba Femi in what will stand as his final match.

Lesnar On His Emotional Final Match

"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 Pat McAfee Show. "Saturday was a very emotional day for me. 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 became the youngest WWE world champion in history at 25 when he beat Dwayne Johnson at SummerSlam 2002. He left wrestling in 2004 due to burnout and eventually landed in MMA, where he knocked out Randy Couture to capture the UFC heavyweight title in just his fourth professional fight. The former NCAA champion defended the belt twice and became one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in MMA history before losing to Cain Velasquez.

He returned to WWE in 2012 and made his final UFC appearance at UFC 200 in 2016, beating Mark Hunt in a bout later overturned to a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for banned substances. Hunt sued Lesnar and the UFC over the result in litigation that dragged on for years.

Lesnar said he plans to focus on his family, including his daughter Mya, a national shotput champion at Colorado State with her sights on the 2028 Olympics. His two sons play hockey.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar announces retirement from professional wrestling