The argument could be made that what didn’t happen inside the octagon at UFC 199 reverberated as much as what did. The birth of Bisping’s fairytale will be the headline of the MMA community for days to come, but for the IWC, so will Brock Lesnar’s return to the cage.
The sensational news was broken in the midst of the event and had its time in the sun, to say the least. Veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani is banned for life from the UFC because the broke the news to the press before it was official.
While the news was made public yesterday, cagesideseats.com reports that the wheels were set in motion for Lesnar’s return as far back as WrestleMania 32. The WWE, UFC and Brock reportedly sowed the seeds months ago and the former Heavyweight Champion has been training for his return since then.
Brock’s return will be a unique and could involve the UFC promoting SummerSlam at one of its upcoming major events. This is the WWE’s official statement:
“Brock Lesnar remains under contract to WWE, however, he has been granted a one-off opportunity to compete at UFC 200. Following this milestone event on July 9, Brock will return to WWE for SummerSlam on Sunday, August 21 live on WWE Network.”
