Brock Lesnar appeared on ESPN SportsCenter this morning to promote WWE’s WrestleMania 32 earlier today. As usual, Lesnar didn’t pull any punches and spoke candidly about his history of substance abuse and Dana White having no interest in bringing him into UFC when Lesnar first reached out to him.

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Lesnar spoke about why he chose to join WWE after college. Lesnar says WWE pursued him well enough and there was no guarantee that football would work out for him. WWE also offered him a really good developmental deal that a “poor college kid” couldn’t turn down. Lesnar says he wasn’t prepared for the WWE lifestyle and never watched wrestling as a kid. The first time he watched pro wrestling was after WWE had reached out to him.

He also opened up about his past substance abuse problems. During the end of his first WWE run, Brock said that his two best friends (and worst enemies) were vodka and Vicodin. He had to leave WWE to save his life and felt like a caged animal. After trying out for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, he decided to take an offer for an MMA fight in Japan. After he won his first professional MMA fight, he reached out to UFC President Dana White, who wouldn’t even return his calls. Lesnar bought a ticket to UFC 74, hopped the rail after the show and met Dana White face to face.