Slightly less than a month after he turned 49, Brock Lesnar decided to say goodbye to the sport that made him a global superstar. The former UFC heavyweight champion, who returned to the WWE five years ago, confirmed his retirement in a recent interview.

While the news spread, a surprising twist saw Brock Lesnar’s former rival, who forced his first exit from the UFC, share a message on his retirement.

“Congratulations to Brock Lesnar’s retirement. An iconic fight and one I will always remember…an honor to share the Octagon with you… OSS,” read Alistair Overeem’s Instagram message. The post featured their face-off ahead of their 2011 fight.

Overeem’s respectful note follows Lesnar’s recent appearance on Pat McAfee’s show, which came after his appearance at SummerSlam 2026 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on August 1.

“I’m here today to do this interview, to let the world and everybody know that I am retired, and I wanted to say a big thank you to everybody,” Lesnar said. “Saturday was a very emotional day for me. When Oba Femi slammed me at WrestleMania, I was like, ‘I can’t do this again.’ So I was like, ‘I think I’m done.’

“But the business and I still had some fuel in the tank. But Saturday for Brock Lesnar, that’s it. That’s it for me in the squared circle and for everything else too. So, I just wanted to give a shout-out to everybody in this universe that has followed me since I was a little kid all the way till Saturday.”

Lesnar shared how, growing up on a South Dakota farm, he nursed big dreams and considered himself grateful when he eventually saw them fulfilled.

Though marred by breaks, Lesnar found his calling in professional wrestling and signed a contract in 2000. Four years later, he left the promotion after WrestleMania XX to pursue a career in the NFL. His departure, however, led to a legal dispute with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that wasn’t settled until 2006.

A year later, in June 2007, Lesnar made his debut in mixed martial arts before making his first appearance at UFC 81, where he lost to Frank Mir. Bouncing back from the setback, Lesnar soon put together a four-fight winning streak during which he became the UFC heavyweight champion when he stopped legend Randy Couture in the second round.

His run changed, however, when he faced Cain Velasquez. The former two-time heavyweight champion ended the fight in the first round, securing a technical knockout victory. Sidelined by diverticulitis for over twelve months, Lesnar returned only to suffer another loss when Alistair Overeem, who was making his UFC debut that night, rocked him with kicks and punches halfway into the opening round of the UFC 141 headliner and ended the fight in a KO.

It took another four years before Lesnar returned to the UFC, only to have his fight against Mark Hunt overturned to a no-contest after he reportedly tested positive for clomiphene.

Beyond the UFC, Lesnar’s pro wrestling career, which spanned close to 26 years, included numerous accolades, including seven WWE Championship reigns and two Wrestler of the Year awards (2002 and 2014).

Brock Lesnar calls it a career, Alistair Overeem prepares for another chapter

In sharp contrast, Overeem’s UFC career, which lasted until 2021, was marked by several losses. Returning to the cage two years after his win over Lesnar, which saw him face scrutiny over PED usage, Overeem suffered a loss to Antonio Silva at UFC 156. A few months later, the former Strikeforce and Dream heavyweight champion fell to Travis Browne.

While he managed to get his career back on track, securing wins over names such as Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, and Mark Hunt, Overeem’s problems continued. The period saw him suffer his most notable loss when Francis Ngannou knocked him out in the first round of the 2017 title eliminator.

In 2021, after top heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov knocked him out at UFC Fight Night 184, Overeem was released from his UFC contract.

What adds a layer of intrigue to the situation is that while Brock Lesnar has decided to hang up his gloves for good and even turned down a callout from Jake Paul, Overeem still seems eager to give his fight career another lease on life.

Latest reports revealed that the former K-1 champion has expressed interest in facing fellow Dutchman Rico Verhoeven. A former Glory heavyweight champion, Verhoeven gained attention after he rocked heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in the Giza thriller.

Whether Overeem, who turned 46 this past May, is finally able to secure a fight against Verhoeven, with whom he was previously in talks for a kickboxing matchup, remains something to watch closely.