Is Brock Lesnar’s Future in the UFC or WWE?
- Dana White tweeted a photo of himself with Brock Lesnar.
- Does that mean the Beast Incarnate is going back to the UFC?
- What are the odds Lesnar could still win a title in MMA?
Just when Brock Lesnar’s Wrestlemania 34 opponent was announced (Roman Reigns), UFC President Dana White caused a stir by posting a picture of himself and the “Beast Incarnate” standing next to each other in Las Vegas with a simple smiley emoji.
Lesnar was in Vegas to confront Reigns on Monday Night RAW, after the latter earned his title shot at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
— Dana White (@danawhite) February 26, 2018
That brief Twitter post has people speculating on whether Lesnar will find his way back into a UFC octagon. Was Dana White just trolling, or is Lesnar actually kicking the tractor tires on a UFC return? According to his advocate Paul Heyman, “If Brock Lesnar wants to fight in the UFC, Brock Lesnar will fight in the UFC.”
“If Brock Lesnar wants to fight in the UFC, Brock Lesnar will fight in the UFC.” – Paul Heyman
The last time we saw the 40-year-old in the octagon, he was wrestle-humping Mark Hunt at UFC 200, a fight that was predictably followed by two anti-doping violations from the USADA.
His dominant win was overturned to a no contest, and Lesnar went back to the WWE on a part-time basis. Lesnar’s lawyers claimed that their client’s failed drug test was due to a foot cream that contained the banned substance clomiphene, an estrogen blocker that can remain in the system for roughly one month following use.
Unfortunately, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) didn’t really buy the excuse that the man just wanted to exfoliate his feet, which resulted in Lesnar being fined $250,000 along with a one-year suspension of his fighting license.
Lesnar still has six months remaining on that suspension, which was frozen after he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. Also, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, although Lesnar’s contract with the WWE ends after Wrestlemania 34 in April, there is a clause in his deal that he’ll remain under contract until sometime in August. This allows the WWE some room to renegotiate, and an opportunity for Lesnar to use his interest in both the UFC and the WWE to leverage a lucrative deal with one or the other.
Either way, a return to the octagon probably wouldn’t occur until December 2018 or sometime in the early part of 2019.
Will Lesnar fight in the UFC again? Or will he return to the WWE ring and pretend to kick ass a few times a year?
| BROCK LESNAR’S FUTURE | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Returns to the WWE (after current contract expires) | -400 (1/4) |
| Returns to the UFC (at any point) | -125 (4/5) |
| Wins another UFC title belt | +10000 (100/1) |
You can’t discount the man’s compete level, and with how everything ended at UFC 200, it’s completely understandable if he decides to pursue at least one more big-money fight in the octagon. There were rumors about a super-fight between Lesnar and Jon Jones, but that went up in smoke after UFC 214, when “Bones” was nailed for another positive PED test. So is there a current fight in the UFC that could draw Lesnar back for a big payday?
No matter what happens on the MMA front, his days in the WWE are not over.
Trevor was Sports Betting Dime’s resident geek (aka: entertainment writer) from 2016-18. He also moonlights as a national film reviewer for other publications. He comes equipped with diplomas in marketing and broadcast journalism with a PHD in couch lounging.
