Dana White Won’t Close The Door On A Brock Lesnar Return; Calls It “Definite Possibility”

Despite a few teasing rumors about Brock Lesnar surrounding UFC 168 in December, it was largely thought that the former UFC heavyweight champion was done fighting when he returned to WWE only days later.

However, even that won’t put the speculation to bed. UFC president Dana White still left the door open for the outspoken Lesnar to come back to the Octagon, saying there was a “definite possibility” that he will return. He also added that he talks to Lesnar on a regular basis. Speaking at last night’s UFC Fight Night 35 post-fight press conference, White said Lesnar was unsatisfied with how his career played out:

“He became the heavyweight champion with diverticulitis. What would he have done without it? From the first day until the last fight he was suffering from it. He wasn’t feeling right and didn’t know why and then it really hit him. He feels like Brock Lesnar at 100 percent could have done better. I told him, ‘You’re out of your f—— mind.’ He came in here with one fight and became the heavyweight champion. It was fun having Brock here.”

Indeed Lesnar was a freak of nature, rising to the top of mixed martial arts with a mercurial trajectory rivaled by few. Some will argue that he was gifted his UFC title shot, but the fact remains he took out a legend in Randy Couture, defended his belt and avenged a previous loss by defeating Frank Mir at UFC 100, then came from behind to submit Shane Carwin at UFC 116.

All three of those were huge events, a testament to Lesnar’s star power.

It’ll always be unknown just how good Lesnar would have been without diverticulitis; his blend of strength and speed will be nearly impossible to match anytime soon. He paved the way for a new generation of heavyweights when he lost the belt to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in October 2010.

Lesnar is likely past his prime fighting shape with his last fight being a first round TKO loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in late 2011. With him scheduled to appear at more WWE events in the foreseeable future, it’s looking cloudy at best for a Lesnar return to the UFC.

Still, with White’s best two pay-per-view horses Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre (and two other divisional champions) on the shelf, will the promotion throw Lesnar an offer he simply cannot refuse? Lesnar’s drawing power was without peer during his short but memorable run as champion. 

But, do you even still want to see him fight? If he is truly healthy, he could make some noise in a relatively shallow UFC heavyweight division.

However, we’ve seen that it’s not always name recognition that makes a card great, with last night’s UFC Fight Night 35 being the most recent example. Let me know your thoughts below.