You can’t go a day without hearing about Brock Lesnar’s possible return to the UFC.
On first glance, the suggestion is preposterous. Lesnar broke The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at last year’s Wrestlemania (arguably the biggest push the promotion could ever give to a wrestler) and is also 38 years old. After not competing in the octagon in three and a half years, it would make little sense for Lesnar to return to MMA where he could easily be injured and where his wrestling skills have diminished.
That said, here are some interesting facts.
The WWE in 2015 is in a very different place than it was in during 2011, when Lesnar was offered a reported $5 million per year to return on a part time schedule. That company turned a $24 million profit in 2011. Today the WWE is suffering major losses due entirely to the gamble of starting its own network, which has single-handedly destroyed its pay-per-view business. The company is reportedly looking at $40 million in losses this year.
Simply put, it might not have the resources to re-sign Lesnar when his current deal expires after the next Wrestlemania.
Would the UFC want him back?
“I have a great relationship with Brock, we talk all the time,” Dana White said to UFC.com last week. “I don’t know, we’ll see. If he wants to fight, he knows my number. It’s pretty amazing what he did and accomplished here while having diverticulitis. It would be interesting to see a 100 percent healthy Brock Lesnar compete.”
