Brock Lesnar interview: 'I will prove once again, I am the baddest dude on the planet'

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar welcomes former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem to the UFC in a five-round main event match-up, booked for the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC 141: "Lesnar vs. Overeem" broadcasts live via pay-per-view on Friday night heading into the New Year's Eve weekend as we ring in 2012.

And in his recent interview with Paul Heyman (transcribed by Cageside Seats), Lesnar vows to reclaim the division strap and prove he is, and will always be, "the baddest dude on the planet."

"I don't have a lot to say to Alistair Overeem. Here's a guy that is getting his chance to make his name in the UFC and unfortunately for him there's a gatekeeper that stands in his way and that's Brock Lesnar. And I will prove on that night that I am, once again, and will always be, the baddest dude on the planet. I will be, once again, UFC heavyweight champion of the world."

Hear more on his UFC 141 main event, as well as his role in the upcoming WWE '12 video game, after the jump.

The surgically repaired Lesnar (5-2) is coming off a first round shellacking at the hands of new division champion Cain Velasquez, who survived a pasty-faced bumrush at UFC 121 in October 2010 to topple the former WWE star and capture the crown.

It was Brock's first loss inside the Octagon since serving up a ham-hock to Frank Mir in his Octagon debut at UFC 81 way back in February 2008.

He was expected to get back on his horse against Junior dos Santos at UFC 131 earlier this year, but was forced to bow out of the Canadian contest to deal with another flare-up of diverticulitis.

Now Lesnar is all patched up and ready to jump right back into "the mix."

That's because Overeem (35-11) is considered one of the premiere strikers in all of mixed martial arts, despite a less than impressive effort against wily grappler Fabricio Werdum just a few months back.

Aside from the shortcomings in his winning performance against "Vai Cavalo," the Dutch destroyer is a consensus top ten ranked fighter who could pose problems for any UFC heavyweight -- but first he has to prove it against one of the division's elite wrestlers.

Who ya' picking in this titanic tilt?