Despite yet another one of MMA Twitter’s outlandish April Fools’ jokes, UFC fans were too clever to believe the latest claim that former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is once more in line for a return to the promotion.
Lesnar, a former undisputed titleholder in the promotion, has long been linked with a return to action since his last fight in 2016. Notably, the ex-WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) megastar has had beef with a host of UFC heavyweights, past and present, like Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones.
However, he last competed in an octagon almost 10 years ago at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt Lesnar under some controversial circumstances. Despite emerging with an initial victory, a post-fight drug test violation saw the result overturned to an official ‘No Contest’.
Furthermore, the outing has subsequently launched a lawsuit between Hunt and the promotion in the years since.
In years gone by, former Bellator MMA leader Scott Coker had also expressed an interest in booking Lesnar in a long-anticipated pairing with Fedor Emelianenko, to no avail.
Despite these rumored link-ups, Lesnar confirmed in 2022 that he would remain retired to boot.
However, given that it was the 1st of April, a crafty X user claimed Lesnar had returned to the UFC’s anti-doping testing program and would return to competition later this annum.
“Brock Lesnar is reportedly stepping back into the Octagon,” UFC Roster Watch posted on X. “Sources say ‘The Beast Incarnate’ has signed for a comeback fight in late 2025 against an unnamed opponent. UFC fans, are you ready for this?“, they added.
Unfortunately, the bait fell flat. “Yeah, we know what date it is”, commented an X user, while another joked Lesnar would skip the cue and finally face off with Jones.
“Ya and he’s fighting Jones for the belt“, they laughed. A third user on X commented, “I didn’t flinch. Brock can’t come back even if he wanted because of that USADA thing against Mark Hunt.”
Yeah we know what date it is
— Chiranjit Ojha (@ChiranjitOjha) April 1, 2025
At 47 years old, it is improbable that Lesnar would even attempt a comeback to the octagon. Should this have been a post about a WWE comeback, that would have been a far more believable attempt at an April Fool’s joke.
Besides, even Brock’s prime in the octagon was plagued with illnesses. Despite winning the world title in just his fourth fight by defeating Randy Corture at UFC 91 in 2008, Brock has a 5-3 record in his MMA career- one that was cut short by his bout with diverticulitis.
However, back in 2017, he did make one final attempt at a comeback by starting a feud with former double champ, Daniel Cormier.
Lesnar’s push against Cormier
Storming the cage after Cormier defeated Stipe Miocic with a KO to win the heavyweight title after UFC 226, Lesnar violently pushed and chased down the veteran.
This set up what was expected to be a high-octane feud. He even vowed to re-enter the USADA testing pool that same year. However, that same year, Lesnar once more claimed he was forever “done” with MMA after nothing came out of it.
Lesnar’s final pro MMA victory would come against Shane Carwin back in 2010, where he would submit the powerhouse wrestler with an arm-triangle submission.
