Brock Lesnar Using Possible Return to UFC As Leverage in WWE Contract Negotiations
There are reports that Brock Lesnar’s WWE contract is set to expire in April of next year, just after WrestleMania 31.
Lesnar, who retired from the UFC after his loss to Alistair Overeem in December of 2011, has been rumored to return to the UFC for almost the entire duration of his current run in WWE.
UFC president Dana White said earlier this week that he’s interested to see what Lesnar would be able to do in the UFC’s heavyweight division if Lesnar were to be 100 percent healthy.
“It’s pretty amazing what he did and accomplished here while having diverticulitis. It would be interesting to see a 100 percent healthy Brock Lesnar compete.”
Lesnar, who’s a very savvy businessman, has already leveragedWWE against a possible return to the UFC, according to the Wrestling Observer.
“In almost predictable fashion, there was talk yesterday regarding Brock Lesnar and UFC, as there will be since Lesnar will certainly talk with UFC and WWE in order to get the best deal possible for his next contract. I expect that would be for WWE but with his drawing power, Lesnar could go back to UFC. With UFC there are issues with age and health. The claim is that Lesnar is completely cured of diverticulitis and was never 100% during his UFC run.”
Lesnar, who was one of, if not the biggest draw in UFC history, may have had his drawing power killed or at least slightly hurt due to being knocked out in the first round of his final two fights with the company. But the UFC is taking the angle that Lesnar was battling diverticulitis for the duration of his UFC run, and would claim that Lesnar is now 100 percent healthy to hopefully restore and ensure his drawing power.
If Lesnar were to return to the UFC there are several of Lesnar’s past opponents that want another fight with him. One of which is Alistair Overeem, who, as mentioned before, stopped Lesnar in the first round of their December 2011 fight and forced Lesnar to retire. Overeem’s reasoning behind wanting a rematch with Lesnar is that he wants to defeat a completely healthy Brock Lesnar.
Other past Lesnar opponents that want another fight with him include Frank Mir, who handed Brock his first loss in his UFC debut. Also, Shane Carwin said he’d come out of retirement to face Lesnar. Carwin nearly defeated Lesnar in their fight back at UFC 116 in 2010.
Lesnar, who is the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, isn’t scheduled to be on WWE television until December 8, and isn’t scheduled to have his next match until the Royal Rumble on January 25.
[Image via UFC.com]
