Count something you never thought would happen as set to go down at tonight’s (Sat., July 9, 2016) UFC 200 pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
At the historic event, which is being heavily billed as the MMA leader’s all-time best card for good reason, former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar will face off with fan favorite Mark Hunt in the co-main event. When Lesnar’s shocking return to the UFC after four-and-half years off was announced, MMA fans and media members were left to wonder just how Dana White & co. were able to sign “The Beast” back from the notoriously tight clutches of WWE principal owner Vince McMahon.
Well, now we’ve found out. White revealed in a scrum at yesterday’s UFC 200 weigh-ins courtesy of Fight Network (via Cageside Seats) that the WWE will be heavily co-promoted during UFC 200 after allowing Lesnar to fight in a reported “one-off” return to the UFC:
In the scrum, White revealed details about his meeting with McMahon and the WWE’s front office, which resulted in Lesnar using his WWE walkout music in his UFC comeback at UFC 200 and WWE being promoted at the landmark event:
“It was Brock’s team, me, Vince and Triple H. Brock Lesnar just weighed-in on stage and he’s fighting here tomorrow night, so it went great. Listen, Vince and I have had our ups and downs and Vince is a tough character to deal with. He’s an animal. It’s one of the things that I respect about him. I think he’s loosened up a bit on the UFC.”
White confirmed that he owed the WWE a certain amount of reciprocity after they allowed Lesnar to essentially boost UFC 200 through the stratosphere with his appearance, acknowledging that he would certainly promote their company for doing so:
“The fact that they did this, I wanted to reciprocate, so yes. And they’re doing it. If you look today, Brock’s weigh-in will be on all social media for WWE. This deal couldn’t have worked out any better.”
With the UFC and WWE notoriously known as enemies in the past, that’s probably something you never thought you’d hear.
But to get “The Beast” back in the Octagon on his biggest-ever stage, well, White is willing to what it takes.
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