Dana White discusses Brock Lesnar’s possible return to the UFC

Back in the summer, in the buildup to his UFC 214 light heavyweight title fight with Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones repeatedly expressed interest in a heavyweight superfight with former champion and current WWE star Brock Lesnar. When Jones won the title back from Cormier, his calls for a blockbuster battle with the hulking Lesnar reached a crescendo.

Since then, of course, Jones has been stripped of the title, having failed a UFC 214 drug test. Talk of Lesnar’s return to the UFC, meanwhile, simultaneously dwindled into nothingness.

On a recent episode of the Dan LeBatard show, UFC President Dana White discussed the fleeting moments when a Brock Lesnar vs. Jon Jones fight was all anybody could talk about. While this veritable goldmine of a fight surely interested the UFC, White said it was never very likely, as Lesnar is still under contract with WWE, and the wrestling promotion was not prepared to loan the behemoth back to the UFC. Especially given that he tested positive for banned substances after his last UFC bout.

“Lesnar was still under contract with WWE till next August,” White said (h/t MMAWeekly.com). “Who knows what would have happened. I don’t count my chickens anymore, I’ll tell you that.”

“They didn’t want to [loan us Brock Lesnar] again,” White added about WWE giving Lesnar permission for another one-off fight in the UFC. “You saw what happened last time he was under contract and it doesn’t look good for anybody.”

This, of course, is probably why the UFC was considering pitting Jones against reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic rather than Lesnar. Lesnar simply wasn’t available.

Who do you think would win a fight between Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar? Is this a fight you still want to see?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/10/2017.