VIDEO | Dana White weighs in on the fighting futures of Brock Lesnar and CM Punk

Earlier this year, in the co-main event of July’s historic UFC 200, WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar made a largely unexpected return to the Octagon. Despite the fact that he had not fought in many years, he was able to grind Mark Hunt to a unanimous decision win.

Regrettably, news broke soon after Lesnar’s return that he had twice tested positive for the estrogen blocker clomiphene. Though he and his team tried to blame this failed test on everything from his foot cream to his eye medication, he was ultimately suspended for one year and fined $250,000. His win over Hunt was also overturned and rendered a no contest.

Lesnar, of course, is currently under contract with the WWE, so this suspension from MMA competition isn’t likely to rattle him too much. That said, he will always be one of the UFC’s biggest stars, and so interest in his potential return to the Octagon will always be there.

In a recent interview with TMZ, UFC President Dana White was asked about the possibility of another Brock Lesnar fight in the UFC’s Octagon.

“I doubt it,” White said of a potential Lesnar return. “I don’t know how much longer he’s got with WWE. I think his career is winding down. But he’s a freak of nature. Maybe he’ll give me a call and say he wants to do it again, but you know, I think he’s ready to ride off into the sunset.”

“We haven’t talked about,” White added. 

White went on to comment on the fighting future of CM Punk, another WWE star who made the jump to the UFC – albeit with much less success than Lesnar. With no martial arts background to speak of, Punk was mauled by rising prospect Mickey Gall in his UFC and MMA debut back in September.

“He and I have not figured that out yet,” White said of Punk’s fighting future. “But we will.”

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” White said when probed about Punk’s being given another fight in the UFC. “I gotta talk to him and see how this thing works out for him. The UFC’s a dangerous place, man. It really is. It’s a tough place to come in for your first couple of fights. I give him all the respect and credit in the world for coming and giving it a shot. It’s a tough place to do it though. We’ll see what happens. I love the guy.” 

Do you want to see Lesnar and Punk back in the Octagon? Sound off, PENN Nation!