Brock Lesnar confirmed his retirement from professional wrestling on The Pat McAfee Show, announcing that his match against Oba Femi at SummerSlam in Minneapolis was his final appearance in the squared circle.
“I am retired,” Lesnar told the hosts, making it clear the decision was final. “Saturday for Brock Lesnar, that’s it. That’s it for me in the squared circle and for everything else, too.”
Lesnar, 49, looked back on a career that stands alone in the history of professional sport. A 33-0 high school wrestler from rural South Dakota, he went on to become an All-American and national champion in college before entering WWE, where he became the youngest world champion in company history.
He later played in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship, a combination of accomplishments no other athlete has managed.
The emotional weight of Saturday’s loss was not lost on Lesnar. He said he had sensed the end coming earlier when Oba Femi slammed him at WrestleMania.
“My heart when Oba Femi slammed me at WrestleMania, I was like, I can’t do this again. I was like, I think I’m done,” he said. “But the business and I still had some fuel in the tank.”
Saturday confirmed it was time.
Lesnar used the opportunity to speak directly to younger fans, tracing his path from a farm in South Dakota to the top of multiple sports.
“I was just a farm kid from South Dakota with a big dream and a big heart and a big chip on my shoulder,” he said. “A lot of people nowadays with social media platform athletes for doing things but they leave out the hard work, and if kids just stay focused on work and putting the time in, good things will happen.”
As for what comes next, Lesnar made clear his priorities have shifted entirely toward family. He has two sons playing hockey and a daughter with her sights set on the 2028 Olympics.
“I got some hunting lined up and I got two boys in hockey. I’m going to support their dreams,” he said. “My daughter, she’s got her eye on the 2028 Olympics. Just going to spend some more time with the kids and in the woods and just reap what I’ve sown.”
When McAfee raised the question of celebrity combat sports, a nod to ongoing speculation surrounding a potential Jake Paul challenge, Lesnar shut it down without hesitation.
McAfee asked, “Are you gonna get into celebrity fig hting maybe?”
“I ain’t doing jack s**t,” Lesnar said flatly.
Lesnar closed by expressing gratitude to TKO, the UFC, the Minnesota Vikings, the University of Minnesota and the entire WWE Universe for their support across his career.
“I’m just grateful,” he said. “I can’t believe it.”
