DANA WHITE has addressed speculation that Brock Lesnar will make a shock return to the octagon next year.
The former UFC heavyweight champion hasn’t set foot inside the cage in over seven years – opting instead to focus on his WWE career.
GETTYBrock Lesnar has been linked with a shock return at UFC 300 next year[/caption]
APThe former heavyweight champ competed at UFC 100 and 200 in July 2009 and 2016[/caption]
Despite being inactive for the best part of a decade, the prospect of Lesnar strapping on his gloves again continues to be discussed.
That talk has ramped up as mixed martial arts’ premier promotion inches closer and closer to its historic UFC 300 card.
Lesnar, 46, headlined UFC 100 all the way back in 2009 and returned from a near five-year hiatus at UFC 200 in July 2016.
But UFC president and newly-minted CEO White has poured cold water on the possibility of the two-time NCAA All-American ever fighting again.
“I think Brock’s done,” White recently told Sports Illustrated. “I don’t think he ever comes back.”
Lesnar’s shock return to the octagon at UFC 200 saw him lock horns with beloved heavyweight Mark Hunt in the historic card’s co-main event.
Lesnar won the contest – his first since his brutal first-round defeat to fellow former champ Cain Velasquez – via unanimous decision.
But it was overturned to a No Contest after it emerged he twice tested positive for the banned fertility drug clomiphene – which can elevate testosterone levels in men – before the fight.
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GettyDana White has shut down talk of Brock Lesnar returning for the historic UFC 300 card[/caption]
APLesnar hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since his UFC 200 clash with Mark Hunt[/caption]
He was fined £205,000 for the anti-doping violation and banned from competing for one year.
Lesnar isn’t the only former UFC champion to have been linked with a shock return at UFC 300.
It was claimed last month that former long-reigning women’s bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey – who is also now plying her trade in the WWE – has been rumoured to be training to make her comeback on the card.
White, however, has shot down the prospect of the UFC’s first-ever female fighter competing again.
He said: “There’s no shot. She’s accomplished everything she set out to do.
“Her dream was to win a UFC championship, then win a WWE championship, and she’s done it.
“Now she’s starting a family. Ronda has made so much money, and she’s still making a lot of money in sponsorships.”
GettyDana White insists Ronda Rousey’s fighting days are over[/caption]