Brock Lesnar last stepped into the Octagon in December 2011, but the former UFC heavyweight champion is ready to resume his MMA career.
The UFC announced Lesnar has agreed to return for a fight at UFC 200 on July 9, per MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani. The company has yet to announce his opponent.
Earlier Saturday, Helwani reported discussions were taking place between UFC and Lesnar regarding a potential return.
Lesnar initially left WWE in 2004 to pursue a career in the NFL. After he fell just short of making the Minnesota Vikings' roster, the former University of Minnesota NCAA heavyweight champion decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts.
He joined UFC in 2008 and quickly became a top box office draw. He defeated Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in just his third UFC fight, and while he helped UFC do some huge pay-per-view numbers, he left after a loss to Alistair Overeem in 2011 as a bout with diverticulitis prevented him from reaching his potential.
Lesnar would eventually go back to WWE in 2012, and he undoubtedly made a major impact. In addition to ending The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania XXX, he became WWE World Heavyweight champion by beating John Cena.
The Beast Incarnate also main evented WrestleMania 31 against Roman Reigns, but despite his spot atop the card in WWE, rumors persisted about him returning to UFC upon the expiration of his contract.
Even with whispers reaching a fever pitch in December 2014, UFC president Dana White denied having any contact with Lesnar, per John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com:
Quick text from @danawhite regarding latest “Brock to @ufc” reports: “I haven’t talked to Brock."
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) December 27, 2014
According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Matt Boone of MMANews.com), Lesnar started to shed weight that month in preparation for a return to the Octagon. Meltzer added that Lesnar's altered appearance led WWE officials to believe that he was leaning toward a UFC return as well, per Morgan.
"The Lesnar people always keep things quiet, but within the company, the belief is that he's going back to UFC, and his showing up lighter to TV last week confirmed that to people who thought it," Meltzer said.
Speculation of a UFC encore was fueled even more at the end of February 2015 when Lesnar appeared at the UFC 184 card headlined by Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano, as seen in this photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com:
PHOTO: Brock Lesnar attends UFC 184 http://t.co/h4d12ltlbV pic.twitter.com/dJ1zA8k1tR
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 1, 2015
Last March, though, Lesnar agreed to a contract extension with WWE, which seemed to close the door on his UFC career once and for all. But he ultimately decided that he wanted to take another crack at the world of MMA, and it will be extremely interesting to see how he fares.
He is getting up there in age (38), and his career record of 5-3 doesn't necessarily suggest that he was an elite fighter to begin with.
Lesnar was a world champion, though, and all signs point to him being 100 percent healthy right now. With that in mind, perhaps he is better equipped to succeed this time around than he was during his first UFC stint.
Regardless of how well he performs, he will undoubtedly make UFC a lot of money for as long as he continues to compete. Signing Lesnar is a massive success for White, and it promises to be a lucrative move for Lesnar as well.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter
