Tuesday 12 June 2018 09:58, UK
UFC president Dana White has claimed he believes Brock Lesnar's WWE contract is due to expire in the summer and confirmed he will attempt to take him back to the octagon.
Lesnar held the UFC heavyweight title for two years between 2008 and 2010 and has been the Universal champion in WWE since April 2017 but his appearances for the company have become increasingly rare.
He has not competed since the Greatest Royal Rumble in April and is not scheduled to make an appearance at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday night.
"Brock's WWE deal is up at the end of the summer I think..."
Lesnar has been continually linked with a return to the world of mixed martial arts, and White commented in February that he felt the chances of the move happening were "very, very, very good".
He signed a new contract with WWE after WrestleMania in April, although the details of the deal were never made public, and White's understanding is it is only a short-term arrangement.
"Brock's WWE deal is up at the end of the summer I think and I know he wants to fight so I'm sure we'll end up getting that figured out," White told TMZ Sports.
Lesnar's opponent could either be Jon Jones - who has called him out previously - or Francis Ngannou, who recently spoke of such a contest as being a "dream match".
"(Ngannou)'s a fine fight, absolutely," added White. "There's a lot of options. Jon Jones is very interested in Brock Lesnar and Brock is very interested in Jon Jones."
Lesnar, who this week set a new record as the longest-serving top-tier WWE champion of the modern era, would be unable to compete in UFC until July 15 as he is currently serving a USADA-imposed suspension for breaching doping rules.
The suspension started six days after Lesnar competed at UFC 200, defeating Mark Hunt by unanimous decision in his first appearance in the octagon since December 2011.
