Minnesota Scene: Lesnar will return to MMA, fight in UFC 200

June 6, 2016 at 5:11PM
Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar pauses for a photo after ruling out a return to mixed martial arts, ending three years of speculation about the biggest pay-per-view star in the sport's history, as he announced he had re-signed with WWE in an interview on ESPN's "SportsCenter," in Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 24, 2015. Lesnar tells The Associated Press he was in training for a UFC return as recently as last week despite his conflicted feelings about it. He finally decided to stick w
Lesnar (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Brock is back in the UFC.

Former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will return to mixed martial arts with a bout at UFC 200 in Las Vegas next month, the promotion announced late Saturday night.

Lesnar — who won the NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship for the Gophers — is one of the biggest pay-per-view stars in UFC history, setting records for the promotion during his eight-fight MMA career between stints as a professional wrestler. He won the heavyweight title by stopping Randy Couture in his fourth fight, and he defended the belt against Frank Mir at the record-setting UFC 100 in 2009.

But Lesnar hasn't fought in the UFC since 2011. Cain Velasquez took away the title belt in 2010, and Alistair Overeem stopped him 14 months later.

The final years of Lesnar's MMA career were seriously hampered by diverticulitis that eventually required surgery.

Lesnar returned to the WWE in 2012 but said he kept training in striking and martial arts. He nearly returned to fighting last year but eventually re-signed with the WWE and said he had "closed the door on MMA."

The UFC didn't announce an opponent for Lesnar, who turns 39 next month — three days after his July 9 bout at UFC 200.

• A reporter said his credentials were revoked from a UFC fight over his report that Lesnar was close to fighting again for the organization.

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MMAfighting.com's Ariel Helwani said Saturday night on Twitter that he, photographer Esther Lin and video director E. Casey Leydon were removed from UFC 199.

UFC spokesman Dave Sholler said professional standards dictate that journalists are to contact the UFC for comment before reporting a story.

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