Dana White has been teasing for weeks that the UFC was going to make an announcement about UFC 200 that would blow our minds. Given the fact that Dana’s a big, fat liar, though, it was easy to completely blow him off and chalk that up as nothing.
But for once, Dana told the truth (even though he still lied about it, and was denying the story days as recently as yesterday), and my mind is blown. According to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting and later confirmed by the company, the UFC has wooed former UFC heavyweight champion, former WWE heavyweight champion and former NCAA champion, the BEAST INCARNATE, Brock Lesnar into returning at UFC 200.
Brock Lesnar is Back!! #UFC200 https://t.co/QTm3eIVn2B
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) June 5, 2016
Needless to say, that’s a big story.
While Lesnar rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way with his smack talk and pro wrestling background, their wallets told the UFC they loved him as he consistently drew massive numbers at the box office and on PPV. He retired suddenly in 2011 but, in the years since, he has been at the center of a number of rumors about a return.
It initially seemed as though his signing a contract extension with WWE in 2015 would officially end his MMA career but, apparently, he had a clause in his contract that allowed him to return to MMA. The WWE issued a statement insisting that the fight was a one-off affair, and that Lesnar would be returning soon:
“Brock Lesnar remains under contract to WWE, however, he has been granted a one-off opportunity to compete at UFC 200. Following this milestone event on July 9, Brock will return to WWE for SummerSlam on Sunday, August 21, live on WWE Network.”
Unfortunately, while that news should be pure fun, it came with a side salad of stupidity. According to Helwani, he was banned from UFC events due to his reporting the news, and that ban may also extend to the other fine journalists and photographers over at MMA Fighting.
From all of us here at Fight State, we’re hoping for the best for all of you, and will dedicate a portion of our snark about the UFC to the MMA Fighting team!
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