Alistair Overeem doesn’t envision a UFC return for Brock Lesnar. Instead, he sees the former heavyweight champ protecting his rump and signing a new deal with World Wrestling Entertainment.
With his WWE contract nearing its end, Lesnar has immediately jumped to the top of the list as one of the most sought-after free agents in MMA history.
The UFC is obviously doing its due diligence in monitoring the situation, especially UFC President Dana White, who recently told Fox Sports that the UFC has a “great relationship” with the former MMA star. Bellator MMA is also on the board with its new president, Scott Coker.
Backed by monetary juggernaut Viacom, Coker confirmed on The MMA Hour that Bellator would pursue Lesnar if he made the decision to return to MMA.
Lesnar, who faced various health issues during his UFC run, retired three years ago after losing to Overeem. He has since returned to his old stomping grounds at WWE in the world of pro wrestling entertainment, and Overeem believes that is exactly where he’ll stay.
“He’s not going to come back,” Overeem told MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani. “There’s a couple of reasons, but reason No. 1 is he’s going to get his ass kicked. He doesn’t like that so he ain’t going nowhere. He’s staying at WWE.”
Former WWE commentator Jim Ross recently told Fox Sports’ Marc Raimondi that Lesnar’s health was back on track and he is looking “phenomenal strength-wise.” Ross is supremely confident that Lesnar could “return to the UFC and sell pay-per-views.”
Obviously, we have yet to hear anything from Lesnar on the matter.
Perhaps he does exactly what Overeem predicts and re-ups with WWE. There is also the possibility that he walks away from everything and lives out the rest of his life on the fruits of past labors. As for MMA, true athletes can never alleviate the eternal itch of real competition.
There is no reason to doubt that a possible sequel to Lesnar’s improbable UFC run that began seven years ago might actually be in the works.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com