Brock Lesnar says ‘vicodin and vodka were my closest friends’ during a dark time in his career

It was not an easy road for the former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar to get into the UFC. The giant athlete came from professional wrestling and UFC President Dana White definitely did not chase Lesnar down and beg him to join the UFC.

Lesnar recalls when he left professional wrestling with aspirations of joining the NFL and eventually the UFC.

“I was on the road and I was injured and I was the champion and I didn’t want to quit. I had a no-quit attitude. Vicodin and vodka were my closest friends — and my closest enemies,” Lesnar told “SportsCenter” (transcribed by FOX Sports).

“I had to get out of the wrestling business back then to save my life. I just wasn’t happy. I wasn’t happy at the time. I felt like a caged animal. I didn’t want that. I still had a competitive nature inside me. I had a calling to go back and compete again.”

After being released from the Minnesota Vikings in training camp final cuts, Lesnar found himself fighting.

“The next thing I know, I got a phone call saying, ‘Are you interested in fighting?’ I said absolutely,” Lesnar stated. “I gave it a one-fight shot with a company out of Japan and then decided I wanted to be in the UFC.”

However, just because Lesnar wanted to be in the UFC, it didn’t happen so easily.

“Dana White wouldn’t take my phone calls. I win my first MMA fight, Dana White won’t take my phone calls from my lawyers and manager and so I said fine. Randy Couture was fighting Gabriel Gonzaga for the heavyweight title so I said buy a ticket and we’ll go to the show,” Lesnar said.

“I bought a ticket, sat in the stands, watched the whole show and at the end of the show, I jumped the guard rail, escaped a few security guards, ran up and tapped Dana White on the shoulder and introduced myself and that’s where the ball got started rolling.”

The rest is history for Lesnar’s MMA career. Lesnar was able to accomplish what most fighters only dream of by winning a UFC title. Lesnar beat Randy Couture to become the UFC heavyweight champion at UFC 91 and defended his belt twice.

Lesnar eventually returned to professional wrestling after retiring from the sport due to complications from diverticulitis and is still a big draw, currently slated for WrestleMania 32.