Two of the biggest superstars in UFC history and USADA favourites, Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar, are on a collision course for one another.
Both are currently ineligible to fight, stemming from their respective in-competition drug test failures, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility for a scenario to take place in which they share the Octagon with one another.
UFC President Dana White has revealed that Jones and Lesnar are interested in fighting in what would be one of the promotion’s biggest ever bouts from a pay-per-view perspective.
The current North American PPV record is the 1.6m buys of McGregor vs. Diaz’ fight in UFC 202.
“I know that Brock’s WWE deal is up at the end of the summer, I think,” White told TMZ. “I know he wants to fight so I’m sure we’ll end up getting that figured out.
“There are a lot of options. Jon Jones is very interested in Brock Lesnar and Brock Lesnar is very interested in Jon Jones.”
Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, has yet to learn of his full suspension after being popped for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid, during a test following the UFC 214 weigh-ins last July.
Should he return to the Octagon, ‘Bones’ has hinted at a move up to heavyweight as he’s put on some considerable bulk in recent years.
Lesnar, meanwhile, would have his own issues to contend with if he decides to swap the WWE for the UFC yet again.
The former UFC heavyweight champion last fought in the summer of 2016, when he returned from a five-year layoff to claim a unanimous decision over the heavy-handed Mark Hunt at UFC 200 but that result was promptly overturned to a No Contest when it emerged that Lesnar had tested positive for a banned substance.
If the 40-year-old does decide to take to the Octagon again, it will not be as simple as signing a contract and showing up on fight night.
Lesnar’s year-long suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency was frozen when he opted to retire from professional mixed martial arts in 2017. He would have to see out the remainder of his ban before he would be allowed to return and could also be subjected to more stringent USADA testing given the fact that he would be coming back from retirement and has previously failed tests.
