Former WWE and UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will be making his return to the UFC at UFC 200 on July 9. He’ll be facing Mark Hunt, who’s currently the eighth ranked heavyweight in the world. The Hunt vs. Lesnar fight will be the show’s co-main-event ahead of two title fights – Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes and Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo – and behind another title fight – Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier.
One question that’s been asked is if Lesnar’s on-screen advocate and real-life friend Paul Heyman would accompany the ex-UFC Champ to the Octagon on July 9, and during an interview with ESPN , the former creative genius behind ECW said that he won’t be walking “The Beast” to the Octagon, and he explained why.
“What purpose would I be serving if I were to accompany Brock Lesnar to the Octagon? Will I tell him to throw more jabs? Will I tell him to go for the takedown now or switch to the jiu-jitsu concept? I find it funny that there is all this speculation. I wish I could find a purpose to serve to go out with Brock. It will be very funny for me to watch him walk down the aisle without me, but until I find a genuine purpose for me to accompany him I really don’t know in what capacity I could serve to help him win that fight.”
Of course, Heyman will be attending UFC 200, and we’ll probably see him with Lesnar at some point during the event. We may even see Heyman inside the Octagon with Lesnar if “The Beast” defeats Mark Hunt next Saturday night.
WWE is set to do a brand split next month, and there has been a ton of speculation surrounding Brock Lesnar and which brand he’ll end up on. Furthermore, there has been some speculation that Lesnar and Heyman may be split up following the brand-extension, but Heyman has made it clear that he’ll go wherever Lesnar goes.
BROCK. IS. BACK! @BrockLesnar vs @markhunt1974 #UFC200 | 7.9.16 https://t.co/z8F8cMMrpE pic.twitter.com/m6OnURx3tw
— UFC (@ufc) June 6, 2016
Lesnar may end up having the chance to be the first ever person to hold the WWE and UFC Heavyweight Championship at the same time if he ends up getting past Mark Hunt. Of course, the belief is that the fight with Hunt will be a one-off, but there is now a working relationship between WWE and the UFC, so as long as Dana White lets Vince McMahon use Paige VanZant, Conor McGregor, and Ronda Rousey, McMahon will probably let the UFC use Lesnar.
During his first UFC run, Lesnar got a Heavyweight Title shot after his second fight in the organization. He went into that fight with a record of 1-1, and he defeated MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture. Lesnar’s run as Champion was cut short, however, due to Diverticulitis, which is the illness that cut his MMA career short.
In several interviews, Lesnar has said that for the first time in a long time, he feels like he’s 100 percent healthy. So, if he looks good at UFC 200, he may have a desire to go after the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
New UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic is set to defend his title against Alistair Overeem in September. Overeem, who handed Lesnar a TKO loss in December of 2011, has been wanting to fight a completely healthy Brock Lesnar, and if they both end up winning their respective fights, we may get to see that rematch.
But for now, all we know is that Brock Lesnar is going to fight Mark Hunt on July 9, and if he wins, he may continue fighting, but if he loses, we may never see Lesnar step inside the Octagon ever again.
[Image via WWE ]