Brock Lesnar Officially Retires From MMA

Brock Lesnar’s long-awaited UFC return isn’t happening, according to Dana White. White told ESPN on Tuesday that Lesnar has informed him that he does not intend to compete in the cage again, putting an end to months of speculation that he would face Daniel Cormier for the UFC heavyweight title.

“He told me he’s done, he’s retired,” White told the outlet. “We’re going to move in another direction with Cormier.”

Lesnar was expected to return after he appeared at UFC 226 and confronted the new champion in Cormier. He had even re-entered the USADA testing pool in preparation for a potential fight. That likelihood has diminished in recent weeks though, with White saying earlier this month that he didn’t expect the fight to happen.

At this time, it isn’t known what is next for Lesnar. The star is currently on hiatus from WWE after having lost to Seth Rollins in the main event of WrestleMania. A report back in February suggested that Lesnar was trying to use AEW as leverage in negotiating a new contract with WWE, but there’s no word on whather anything came of that.