He’s baaaaaaack.
WWE superstar Brock Lesnar is returning to mixed martial arts and his comeback fight will take place at UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas.
The UFC confirmed the news several hours after MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC and Lesnar’s camp were “close to finalizing a deal.”
An opponent for Lesnar has yet to be named.
The former heavyweight champion has not competed in MMA since a TKO loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 back in December 2011.
Lesnar initially ruled out a return to MMA last March after re-signing with the WWE.
“The fighter in me wants to continue, but at this stage in my life, it ain’t just about me anymore,” Lesnar told The Associated Press at the time. “You put your pride to the side. You hug your wife and your kids. I’m a 37-year-old man, and some days I feel like I’m 80, just with all the things I’ve experienced, all the things I’ve done.”
Lesnar, now 38, is one of the biggest stars in UFC history. He went 4-3 in the promotion and knocked out Hall of Famer Randy Couture at UFC 91, in just his fourth pro fight, to win the heavyweight title. He also picked up notable wins over Frank Mir and Shane Carwin.
Although Lesnar was able to reach the pinnacle of the sport, he has expressed some regrets because he was never 100 per cent 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.
UFC president Dana White has always been open to the idea of Lesnar returning to the UFC and for good reason. Prior to Conor McGregor coming along, Lesnar was the biggest pay-per-view draw the company had to offer. The NCAA Division 1 freestyle wrestling champion competed on seven PPV cards in his UFC career that generated approximately 5,526,000 total buys — three of the events he headlined (UFC 91, UFC 100, UFC 116) garnered more than one million PPV buys each.
The UFC is coming off a strong 2015, but Lesnar returning is a huge boost for the organization.
