The Undertaker reflects on his October 2010 confrontation with Brock Lesnar following Brock Lesnar’s fight at UFC 121. Perhaps not a shock, given Undertaker’s proven loyalty to Vince McMahon over the years, “The Phenom” has since revealed that Vince McMahon was behind the confrontation.
Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker had a noted history with one another even by 2010 when Undertaker appeared at a UFC event, uncharacteristically showing more of his true self than his WWE persona allowed at the time. On that night, Cain Velasquez would defeat Brock Lesnar in the first round of their fight but it was the moment after Brock Lesnar’s loss that would have wrestling fans talking.
The Undertaker Reveals Vince McMahon Was Behind His UFC 121 Appearance
After Brock Lesnar’s shocking loss to Cain Velasquez, he would briefly be confronted by The Undertaker on his way out of the octagon. At the time, Brock Lesnar was nearly seven years removed from the final WWE appearance of his initial run, which concluded at WrestleMania XX in Madison Square Garden. Brock Lesnar would not officially return to WWE for more than a year after that incident on Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania in 2012.
In a 2020 interview with The Sun, Undertaker revealed that he was sent to UFC 121 by Vince McMahon in an effort to start a confrontation with Lesnar and potentially stir some interest in a Brock Lesnar return to WWE.
“I was there to pick a fight. I was sent there personally to pick a fight, and I was unaware that Dana [White] had no clue what was going to happen, which I felt horrible about after the fact.
“I thought there had been some kind of discussion between him and Vince [McMahon].
“At that time Brock was so hot in the MMA world, so obviously … I was like, ‘You know what? Why not try it?’ There was no personal animosity really.
“But it was basically me saying, ‘All right, you left our world, I’m going to come into your world and I’m going to call you out.'”
The Undertaker Would Eventually Go On To Give Brock Lesnar A Career-Defining Win
Ultimately, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker would eventually meet at WrestleMania XXX in 2014. 10 years after he thought he was done with professional wrestling for good, Brock Lesnar would end Undertaker’s WrestleMania undefeated streak and set the course for a legacy-defining run in WWE that he is still in the midst of today.
As for Cain Velasquez, Brock Lesnar would even get the opportunity to avenge his loss to Velasquez when the two met at WWE Crown Jewel 2019 for the WWE Championship.
Even though Dana White was never made aware of The Undertaker’s appearance at UFC 121, it would set the stage for nearly a decade of WWE content, whether anyone involved realized it or not.