Brock Lesnar hasn’t commented publicly regarding rumors he has entered negotiations for a return to UFC, but when presented with a hypothetical fight option, Lesnar did have something to say.
One speculated opponent for Lesnar has been Jon Jones, who is challenging Daniel Cormier for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship this weekend at UFC 214. It would mean jumping up a weight class for Jones, but Lesnar seemed keen when presented with the idea of the fight.
“Would I fight Jon Jones? Anytime, anywhere,” Lesnar told the Associated Press. “Right now he should be worried about D.C. on Saturday night.”
Both Lesnar and Jones failed tests for the “specified substance” Clomiphene in conjunction with UFC 200 last year. Jones’s failure was flagged just days before he was to fight Cormier at the event, but Lesnar’s results did not come in until after. Lesnar’s decision win over Mark Hunt was overturned to a no-contest. Both Lesnar and Jones were suspended. Jones’s suspension expired earlier this month while Lesnar retired in February, effectively freezing his suspension and taking him out of the USADA testing pool.
For Lesnar to fight again for UFC, he will be required to officially state his intent to return and complete the remaining months of his suspension while subjecting himself to random USADA testing.
A fight between Lesnar and Jones would be a dream fight of one of UFC’s most popular heavyweights and one of its most accomplished fighters. With several hurdles to overcome, including Daniel Cormier, this fight will have to remain a dream for the time being.
Hiscoe’s Analysis: We talked about the prospect of this fight Monday night on the “MMA Talk for Pro-Wrestling Fans” Livecast and I have a hard time seeing this fight coming together. First, it would be ideal for Jones to beat Cormier this weekend before moving up to fight Brock at heavyweight. The dilemma is if Jones wins, he’ll be the UFC Light Heavyweight Champ, and Jones fighting at heavyweight would put the division on hold, and we’ve seen the damage that’s been done to featherweight, lightweight, and middleweight in the past two years by having champions look for “money” fights or just leaving altogether. There is also the hurdle of Lesnar being tested for 5-6 months before a fight can happen, but that might be the easiest of them all. Regardless, the idea of a Jones-Lesnar fight sounds great; I’m just not optimistic that it’s the best idea in the big picture.
WEDNESDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-If you don’t want to shell out $100 to watch Mayweather vs. McGregor at home, Fathom Events will be bringing the fight to select movie theaters in the U.S. Tickets will be $40.
-Dana White told ESPN on Monday that he hasn’t spoken to Jon Jones since his drug test failure in the days leading up to UFC 200 last summer. “I feel like we’ve been there for the guy every time he’s had a problem, and for him to do that at UFC 200, I was just… I was not happy,” White said (via MMA Fighting). “But we don’t have to talk for him to come back and do what he’s going to try to do on Saturday night. We don’t have to talk. I’m not mad at him anymore like I was before, but we’ll see how this thing plays out.”
-Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping spoke to each other on Bisping’s podcast recently and both expressed interest in fighting each other later this year. St-Pierre said: “I texted Dana and he knows that I want to fight you and hopefully if the boss wants, the fight will happen.”
-Saturday’s UFC on Fox show headlined by Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum saw final average viewership come in at just over 2 million viewers. Last July’s Fox show averaged just shy of 3 million viewers for an event headlined by Holly Holm vs. Valentina Shevchenko.
-UFC 214 Embedded: Episode 2 is now available for viewing HERE.
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ROUND-UP
-Rafael dos Anjos vs. Neil Magny and Mitch Clarke vs. Alex White have been added to UFC 215 on Sept. 9 from Edmonton.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: TUESDAY NEWS DIGEST 7/25: Jones wins the day as he shares Anderson Silva’s thoughts on Cormier (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)
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