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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was in attendance on Saturday night for Junior dos Santos' destructive second-round stoppage of his former nemesis Frank Mir at UFC 146.
At the post-fight press conference for the event, UFC President Dana White was asked if there was anything more to Lesnar's appearance, and whether the former Champ was considering a return to the Octagon.
White said Lesnar was indeed considering a return to MMA, though nothing at all is yet set on that front.
Lesnar retired from the sport in December following his loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141. That was his second straight first round stoppage loss, following up on his title loss to Cain Velasquez in October of 2010, and the third straight fight in which he was beaten up pretty badly.
However, Lesnar returned to his former home of professional wrestling in April, and reportedly signed for a year with the WWE.
Penick's Analysis: I wouldn't put much stock in this, at least for the time being. Lesnar's current WWE storyline is that he has "quit" the WWE, and this may (sadly) be a part of playing into that right now. I won't believe he's returning until he actually does, of course, but the door has at least been opened. That said, a third fight with Frank Mir could be the most lucrative fight for Mir going forward, and would be a chance for Lesnar to get a rubber match against a fighter he's confident he can beat.
UPDATE: There are some rumblings online that Lesnar's WWE contract is not an exclusive deal, and thus this may be a legitimate attempt at a return. Again, I won't believe it for sure until it's happening, but a third fight with Frank Mir sure would make a lot of sense.
[Brock Lesnar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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