Brock Lesnar is pondering a return to mixed martial arts, according to UFC president Dana White.
The former UFC heavyweight champion announced his retirement from MMA following a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in December 2011. After leaving the sport, the 37-year-old returned to his professional wrestling roots where he’s currently under contract with the WWE. His deal expires in April.
“We have a great relationship with [Lesnar]. He’s healthy and he has said that he’s interested in fighting again,” White said at a press conference in Las Vegas Monday. “We’ll see what happens.”
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Lesnar is one of the biggest stars in UFC history despite only amassing a 4-3 record in the promotion. Six years ago at UFC 91, in just his fourth pro fight, Lesnar knocked out Hall of Famer Randy Couture to win the heavyweight title. He then defended his belt against Frank Mir and Shane Carwin before losing it to Cain Velasquez.
Although Lesnar was able to reach the pinnacle of the sport, he has expressed some regrets because he was never 100 percent healthy during his run in the UFC. Lesnar was diagnosed with digestive illness diverticulitis and underwent multiple surgeries to help the ailment. He believes at full health he would be more dominant than he was when he was champ.
White has always been open to the idea of Lesnar returning to the UFC and for good reason. Lesnar was consistently one of the top draws in the promotion. The WWE superstar and NCAA Division 1 freestyle wrestling champion competed on seven pay-per-view cards in his UFC career that generated approximately 5,526,000 total buys. When you consider that the UFC’s PPV buy rates have taken a drastic dip in 2014, a Lesnar return would be a huge boost for the organization.
