UFC President Dana White apparently shot down rumors of a possible August fight between Brock Lesnar and UFC Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier while speaking at a press conference today.
As noted over WWE’s WrestleMania 35 Weekend, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani noted on ESPN SportsCenter that Lesnar is currently in talks with UFC officials about possibly returning to the Octagon this August, for the anticipated fight with Cormier.
White was asked about the report during UFC’s seasonal press conference in Atlanta, and said it’s not even on the radar. The people in attendance responded to White with a chorus of boos, according to Yahoo Sports.
“Seriously, that fight isn’t even in the works. That might not even happen first (for Cormier),” White said. “That’s what Cormier said too.”
In regards to why the Lesnar vs. Cormier chatter has picked back up, White said he didn’t know why it was reported. He also said UFC doesn’t even have a return date for Lesnar yet, and that Cormier’s next fight may be the rematch against Stipe Miocic. White did confirm that the promotion has wanted to do Lesnar vs. Cormier.
“Nothing happened, we haven’t even talked to Brock,” said White. “I don’t know if he’ll fight again, but we don’t have a date for him right now. First fight (for Cormier) might be Stipe. Nothing happened (with Lesnar). That was what we wanted to do, but Brock and I haven’t even talked. Like I’ve said many times, when Brock Lesnar is ready, he’ll call me.”
White also confirmed that Cormier hasn’t been cleared to return from his injuries, which include a bad back. They will make a decision on his next opponent, if it’s Lesnar or Miocic, when he’s healthy enough to fight.
“We’ve gotta wait for Cormier,” White said. “Cormier went back in the gym I think two weeks ago and did a light workout. He’s still not healthy. So as soon as he’s healthy to fight, we can make a decision on when we can do him and if it’s Stipe.”
It’s no secret that Lesnar vs. Cormier has been rumored ever since Lesnar confronted Cormier at UFC 226 following the title win over Miocic. There was talk of having the fight in early 2019, but that obviously never happened. This would be Lesnar’s first MMA fight since defeating Mark Hunt at UFC 200, the fight that was overturned due to a failed drug test from Lesnar.
Lesnar appears to be done with WWE, for now, following the WWE Universal Title loss to Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday. There’s no word yet on when he will be back to work for WWE, but he’s been rumored for the next event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been rumored for Friday, June 7.
