When asked why he thought White had no interest in bringing him to UFC despite his established fame, Lesnar reasoned that he had no legitimacy in the fight game.

“I had no credibility, and I don’t blame him. I was an amateur wrestler and a fake entertainer. So he didn’t care. I fought a tomato can in my first fight. I beat him in 90 seconds and I didn’t prove myself yet. So he threw me to the wolves. My first fight is against Frank… He almost broke my leg in half… So it was just one of those things where I had to prove myself to him.”

When all was said and done, Lesnar said he did “quite well” financially as a result of the deal, even if he didn’t know the specifics of his pay scale compared to money drawn. He was also asked what he found to be his fondest accolade: the NCAA National Wrestling Championship or UFC Heavyweight Championship.

“I think my most prestigious award for me is my National Championship in college,” he said. “Because to be that young kid and to be raw, and to carry that dream and to finally win at a discipline you’ve been trying to master for 17 years. That’s probably my biggest accolade I can hang my hat on.”

Lesnar admitted that Randy Couture was aging when he dethroned him for the UFC title. “He was on his way out. Dana was trying to get rid of Randy because they didn’t see eye to eye in the pay scale and all these other things. So I think Dana was really hoping I was going to beat him, and he was very ecstatic about it at the time.”