Brock Lesnar to fight at UFC 200

[PorkChop]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/6/4/118 ... at-ufc-200

This would be awesome. Lesnar still might be able to hang with top 10 heavyweights, I doubt anyone in the top 5 though. He'll most likely face Mark Hunt, who has been told by Dana White to be on standby.

Btw, Ariel Helwani is the most credible reporter in MMA. This is legit.

EDIT: Now confirmed. It's happening.

[Str8Shooter]

Brock is under contract with WWE for another year and a half or so as far as I know. The only way I can see Vince giving him permission to fight is if it's brokered that WWE gets Ronda Rousey for a match or maybe McGregor.

Even then it's risky. Brock gets destroyed by someone everyone that watches WWE will know and it might hurt him.

[Taveus]

Brock is under contract with WWE for another year and a half or so as far as I know. The only way I can see Vince giving him permission to fight is if it's brokered that WWE gets Ronda Rousey for a match or maybe McGregor.

Even then it's risky. Brock gets destroyed by someone everyone that watches WWE will know and it might hurt him.

According to F4W:

According to sources, Lesnar had an option put in his WWE contract that he could take a UFC bout prior to this year's Wrestlemania.

http://www.f4wonline.com/ufc-news/major-ufc-news-regarding-ufc-200-and-ufc-202-214031?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Dana has since gone on to say that the rumour is false but fuck Dana. He's a notorious liar. He could just be trying to save face so it'll be a surprise.

UPDATE: It's confirmed. Brock is fighting at UFC 200. It was on the promo for 200 tonight on 199. Expected opponent is Mark Hunt, though that isn't confirmed.

[KaiserGlider]

I was gonna file this under "I'll believe it when I see it", but holy shit it's actually happening.

WWE confirming!

http://www.wwe.com/article/brock-lesnar ... 27995709=1

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.

He ain't missing Summerslam either! It's the summer of Brock!

[PorkChop]

BROCK IS BACK

[KaiserGlider]

UFC 200 promo with Lesnar at the end:

[Taveus]

Ariel Helwani died for our sins.

UFC 200 is stacked with Brock being added. I don't know if I'll watch it after they banned Helwani for life though.

[PorkChop]

Ariel Helwani died for our sins.

UFC 200 is stacked with Brock being added. I don't know if I'll watch it after they banned Helwani for life though.

Even though the UFC have treated Helwani like shit, I've enjoyed watching the saga unfold. It's good for the fans and his reputation as a reporter is better than ever.

For anyone not familiar with the situation - Ariel Helwani is a journalist for MMAFighting.com, probably the biggest and most credible MMA news website around. He was a friend of the UFC and worked as an interviewer on some UFC programming such as UFC Tonight and UFC on Fox, but then the UFC fired him after he broke a story about McGregor vs Diaz 2 being in the works for UFC 200. Now that Ariel doesn't work for the UFC anymore he's began reporting on absolutely everything and giving the fans inside information long before it's confirmed, such as the story about Lesnar's return.

He's said that in the past he deliberately hasn't reported certain news out of respect for the UFC and instead let them break the news, but as the UFC fired him from their programming, he has no reason to do that anymore. However, the UFC still get pissed off when he breaks stories and not them, so after he broke the Lesnar news they've banned him from all UFC events, for life. The UFC have really cut off their nose to spite their face, and it's ridiculous that after sacking him they expect him to not report on their business.

Dana White is an absolute dick so I hope Ariel continues to get under his skin and give us breaking stories.

[Str8Shooter]

How in the World did WWE cave and give an option to fight in UFC to Brock in that contract? They must have been desperate as hell to re-sign him. That seems like the most un-Vince like move ever.

This is way better for the UFC than WWE in my opinion. UFC will do a monster buyrate for this show for sure now, and if he wins you likely see more fights from him. If he loses UFC still does the great business for the show and WWE gets a returning Brock who's invincible aura has just been shattered again.

[Daz]

Must be nice to be Brock Lesnar, able to call your own shots and whatnot.

[DBSoT]

How long do you think Brock knew about this? I find it hard to believe he just decided to do it a month or so before the fight. Isn't he kind of out of MMA shape? Will he be ready in a month? Brock is kind of a genius, he has played the WWE and UFC exactly the way he wants them.

[Str8Shooter]

How long do you think Brock knew about this? I find it hard to believe he just decided to do it a month or so before the fight. Isn't he kind of out of MMA shape? Will he be ready in a month? Brock is kind of a genius, he has played the WWE and UFC exactly the way he wants them.

Brock's been off TV since Mania. He's probably been training for months already.

[PorkChop]

How long do you think Brock knew about this? I find it hard to believe he just decided to do it a month or so before the fight. Isn't he kind of out of MMA shape? Will he be ready in a month? Brock is kind of a genius, he has played the WWE and UFC exactly the way he wants them.

Brock's been off TV since Mania. He's probably been training for months already.

Apparently it's been in the works for a few months. People are amazed that the UFC kept it a secret for so long, as almost everything in the MMA world gets leaked.

[KaiserGlider]

I'm surprised this is being announced a month before the PPV. If this has been in the works for a while, you'd think UFC would want to promote a fight this big a few months ahead of time. Not that I know much about MMA, just seems like that's what they usually do.

Anyway, I don't think Brock losing would be that disastrous for his WWE character. In fact I think WWE could capitalize off of this, and perhaps that was part of the plan all along. I see three scenarios coming out of this fight:

1. Brock wins and solidifies himself as the indestructible god of wrestling.

2. Brock loses and goes on a pissed-off rampage throughout WWE to save his gimmick. He's even more dangerous than before, though he's also more prone to losing control and his opponents taking advantage of it.

3. Brock loses, giving WWE the opportunity to tone him down and scrap the increasingly stale Suplex City gimmick. They start booking him in more competitive matches, like how he was before he broke the Streak. Kayfabe explanation for this is Brock is not the same mentally after losing his MMA fight. He still wins, but sooner than later someone ends up pinning him clean because it's not so unrealistic anymore.

[AkydefGoldberg]

Great news for UFC but I assume it's only for money that Brock is going back as there doesn't seem to be a plan in place to win a belt etc, then returning to the WWE in the summer.

WWE will be able to spin it away whatever happens to Brock in this UFC fight.

On Helwani, Dana is acting a like a dick there. You could say the former has helped MMA boost its product with his coverage and interviews but yeah, more than capable to go out on his own.

[Hanley!]

It seems crazy that WWE allowed this to happen.

I mean, Brock is going to remain a star for WWE no matter what happens. Everyone understands that wrestling is fake, so I don't think it'll hurt Brock too much if he loses a real fight. Fans are willing to suspend their disbelief a certain amount. He's bounced back from MMA losses before, he can do it again.

But even still, this is such a great get for the UFC, and WWE doesn't stand to benefit from it at all. Conceivably if Brock wins then he'll bring back some fans with him to WWE. But that doesn't seem too likely. It didn't really happen last time he came back to the company. But he is a proven draw for UFC - one of the best they've ever had. And he could definitely get wrestling fans to buy UFC 200.

They're just giving money to a company that is essentially their biggest competitor. And risking losing an asset of theirs if he injures himself in training or in the fight.

Also, how irritating (yet funny) would it be if after protecting Brock for so long and turning him into an invincible monster, he finally gives the rub to someone else and helps create a new superstar ... in another company. That would make me facepalm a little.

[Str8Shooter]

Yeah I don't see what WWE gets out of this at all. I've heard UFC might promote Summerslam on their cards, but really? Most MMA fans either hate wrestling or are lapsed wrestling fans, and I don't see any lapsed fans coming back to see Brock wrestle if they haven't already done so the past 3-4 years.

Now if they were getting Ronda or Conor to come wrestle then they would get something. But honestly, even Ronda's star has faded from her heights of a year or two ago. Her wrestling would still be a thing, but not what it would have been a couple years ago after the Mania thing she did.

[PorkChop]

The latest:

Lesnar has been removed from the UFC 200 webpage and Youtube: http://m.uk.ufc.com/event/ufc200?id=

Although this could mean nothing, there's a few rumours that he's been removed from the card. Apparently he was upset that his return was leaked, and this has jeopardised the deal. If the UFC have removed him from the card to spite Ariel Helwani then that's the most pathetic thing ever.

[Str8Shooter]

Brock fighting Mark Hunt. Isn't he good?

[PorkChop]

Brock fighting Mark Hunt. Isn't he good?

Mark Hunt is a decorated kickboxer with a pretty solid chin. He's arguably the heaviest hitter in the heavyweight division.

If Lesnar is smart he'll shoot for the takedown straight away. Hunt's BJJ is non-existent and his defensive wrestling leaves much to be desired, so if Lesnar takes it to the ground he'll stand a good chance of getting a stoppage. If Lesnar is stupid and decides to stand though, it could be a very short night for him.