12 Things We Just Learned About Brock Lesnar's UFC Fight From Paul Heyman

3. What Happens If Lesnar Loses?

It may be unthinkable, but there's nothing certain about the outcome of Lesnar's fight - particularly not when Mark Hunt is the roadblock he has to get through to claim the win. When initially asked about what happens if Lesnar loses, Heyman dodged the question expertly, saying he only deals in absolutes ("if my aunt had balls she's be my uncle. But she doesn't, so she's not"):

What happens if Brock Lesnar loses against Mark Hunt at UFC 200?

"Here's an absolute: Brock Lesnar is stepping into the Octagon with Mark Hunt on July 9th. Here is an absolute: Brock Lesnar is appearing at SummerSlam on August 21st. Here's an absolute: Brock Lesnar will be featured on the cover of WWE 2K17 on October 11th. Those are absolutes. If? I don't know about ifs. I can't deal in hypotehtical situations... whatever happens in that Octagon will obviously affect things going forward. We'll find out July 9th."

But then pressed on the issue by our own Adam Pacitti, Lesnar seemed to offer a more concrete idea of his thoughts, particularly when asked how his place on the roster might be affected. Does he lose some of his legitimacy?

"Brock Lesnar had the opportunity to veto any fighter that he did not wish to face at UFC 200. Brock did not exercise that veto. Brock Lesnar is the one that called Dana White, he revealed that in the interview with me that we aired on the Heyman Hustle Youtube channel and Brock Lesnar called Dana White and said 'put me in against anyone you've got, I'll fight anyone at UFC 200' and Dana White started naming names to Brock Lesnar and he said 'it doesn't matter the name, I'll fight anybody you got.' So when they came up with Mark Hunt who is a one punch knock-out artist with superior takedown defence, Brock didn't flinch. If that doesn't add to his bad-!*$% persona -and he's been out of the Octagon for five and a half years and he's walking in and facing a one punch knock-out artist on a winning streak with superior takedown defence - what else could sell to the public that Brock Lesnar is the baddest dude on the face of the planet today?If people are going to fret over the result of a fight in terms of legitimacy, I think they're looking in the wrong direction."

Surely though, if Brock is defeated at UFC 200, Vince is the man with the most the lose, so you'd imagine it must have taken a lot to convince him to let it happen?

"I wasn't in the room when Brock discussed this move with Vince McMahon so I don't know what Vince's reaction to this is, except for the public stance that he's taking. So I think the person to ask that question to is Vince McMahon."