UFC’s President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novistsky, denies reports yesterday that Brock Lesnar has re-entered the USADA drug testing pool.
Novitsky took an official stance with MMAJunkie:
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“(Lesnar) is not currently enrolled in the USADA testing pool, nor has there been any inquiry on his part to do so.”
Novitsky would add that there was “zero truth” to the story from yesterday that Lesnar and Paul Heyman met with UFC officials.
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Yesterday, Pro Wrestling Sheet reported Lesnar’s contract was set to expire sometime after WrestleMania 34 and the Beast Incarnate had already told WWE officials that he did not intend to re-sign. As of this moment, all of this still stands true.
But, the report mentioned that Lesnar has re-entered the USADA testing pool, which meant he’d have to pass drug tests in order to fight again. Coming from the near top of UFC, this is false.
This Tweet from Ariel Helwani falls right in between Novitsky’s statement and yesterday’s rumors.
Nothing remotely close at this time. They could certainly use him, but not much there right now. https://t.co/qoMvyeqDWL
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 19, 2017
There’s a lot to cover here. Brock Lesnar is currently suspended from UFC. This adds an extra layer of complication to this narrative. Per Lesnar’s suspension, he cannot compete in any MMA promotion for the rest of 2017. However, when the suspension lifts and Lesnar proves he can pass a drug test (or several), his return to fighting may be imminent.
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To the report of Lesnar not being willing to come back to WWE — this should be taken with a grain of salt. Lesnar, despite rarely ever talking on WWE cameras, is a shrewd businessman and this is likely part of a long-term plan to get the most money from everyone.
Currently, Lesnar is WWE’s Universal Champion. He’s set to defend his title in about a month at SummerSlam. This new information could conceivably provoke WWE to get the belt to someone else, but as of today, Lesnar’s SummerSlam opponent is unknown. However, it looks like it will be defended against three of WWE’s hottest and largest employees: Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman.
That would make for quite the old school showcase of monsters that made WWE what it is today. There may not be enough canvass in the ring to support a match between those four behemoths. With this looking to be the case, it does take a bit of the drama out of next week’s big RAW match, but it will be worth it — because if this turns out to be the case for SummerSlam, there is no clear favorite. And when we have to resort to guessing, that’s when wrestling is at its finest.
