Brock Lesnar will make his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon, but his opponent isn't necessarily taking him too seriously.
"The Beast" left the UFC in 2011 due to a bout with diverticulitis. He then returned to the WWE in 2012 and has remained a part-time performer in Vince McMahon's company ever since.
The WWE has engaged in a cross-promotion with the UFC and is allowing Lesnar to return for a "one-off" fight and it was revealed Monday that the former UFC and WWE heavyweight champon will battle Mark Hunt on July 9 at UFC 200.
Hunt ripped on Lesnar ahead of their fight, calling him a "pretender" and ripping his wrestling background.
"I'll knock his face off. I knock his mouth off and then his lips fly off. If he has an itch to scratch I will scratch it for him," Hunt told Leigh Roberts of MarkHunt.tv. "I ain't no part-time fighter. He thinks this is a game where he can come back and forth. I will send this pretender back so he can play house with the other part-timers. This realm is for the real fighters, not these damn pretenders. Don't confuse wrestling with real fighting. I'm going to give it to him."
Lesnar hasn't competed since a loss to Alistair Overeem in 2011 right before his retirement. He enters his fight with Hunt with a 5-3 overall record.
"The Beast" stands at 6-foot-3 and is age 38, while Hunt is 5-foot-10 and 43. "The Super Samoan" is 7-4-1 since entering the UFC.
Hunt accepted his next fight in May, but had no idea it would be against Lesnar. Still, there is no shortage of confidence from Hunt heading into the bout.
"When I was asked a few weeks ago to stay ready for July, I was very pumped man," Hunt said. "I had no idea it would be Brock, but like everything it doesn't matter who I fight they are going to get it good and proper when I step inside the cage. I'm just going to prepare as best as I can. My mind is built for this s--t. Throw me into the maelstrom of battle and nine out of 10 times I walk away."
Hunt is coming in off of a victory over Frank Mir with a knockout punch last time out on Mar. 20 in Australia. He has what in his mind is a very simple solution to handle Lesnar.
"I deal with a wrestler like I deal with every other fighter," Hunt said. "I punch them in the mouth."
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