Brock Lesnar returns to UFC, set to fight new heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier
Brock Lesnar is back in the UFC, and he’s going straight for the heavyweight title.
Moments before Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic made their walkouts for their UFC 226 headliner Saturday night, Lesnar was escorted to a front-row seat by UFC President Dana White. What Lesnar witnessed was Cormier, already the light heavyweight title holder, become a simultaneous two-division champion with a first-round knockout of Miocic.
Afterward, Lesnar entered the cage when Cormier took the microphone from Joe Rogan and told him to. Before they could even exchange words, Lesnar shoved Cormier, and they had to be separated by security while shouting at each other.
As expected, Lesnar will challenge Cormier for the heavyweight belt, though a date and location aren’t determined. White confirmed the news during the UFC 226 post-fight press conference.
“We’re definitely going to make that fight,” White said.
The development means White has made good on his word from April, when he said the former UFC champ Lesnar would return after previously teasing the odds were “very, very, very good.”
Lesnar (5-3-1 MMA, 4-3-1 UFC), the current WWE Universal champion, hasn’t had an MMA bout since defeating Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in July 2016. That result was later overturned to a no-contest after Lesnar failed a pair of drug tests by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Lesnar was handed a one-year suspension and later retired.
In order to return to the UFC, Lesnar will have to re-enter USADA’s testing pool and serve out the remainder of his suspension. White said the process began last week.
“I don’t know where they are in the process, but he’s going to pop up (on USADA’s list) here soon,” White said.
Even as he’s been away from MMA, Lesnar has been the subject of some big callouts. Cormier himself said during the build-up to UFC 226 that he would look forward to a “green panty night” with a victory, a reference to making a lot of money from pay-per-view buys.
Looks like it’s a dream come true for the champ.
credit; USATODAY