It's not hyperbole to say that the story of Brock Lesnar possibly returning to mixed martial arts for a fight at UFC 200 is crazy.
It's just a few hours old, and it looks like it will only get crazier.
First, ESPN's Brett Okamoto asked UFC President Dana White about it, and got everything but a flat denial:
Lesnar had a great run here, he retired at I think the right time and, you know, he had a good run. Now he's with the WWE and when he signed that deal with the WWE, I felt like that was the right thing to do. But it was fun when we had him.
Okamoto's question - and Dana's answer - focus on a "weird deal" where Brock was added to UFC.com's active roster last week. They do not address Ariel Helwani's sourced report that Lesnar and UFC are well into negotiations.
Watch their exchange here:
On the other side of things, Jeremy Botter & Duane Finley at FloSports back Helwani's story, and adds that WWE is involved in the negotiations:
Lesnar has been training for the potential bout since WrestleMania 32 on April 3. He is still under contract to WWE, but WWE has given their blessing and will likely be involved in promoting the fight on their cable television shows and digital platforms.
There was even a rumor flying around Twitter earlier that UFC would announce Brock's return tonight at their 199 event, but no one has gone on record with that. Even those saying the deal will happen have been clear no opponent is set for Lesnar should he climb back into the Octagon as a competitor.
Stay tuned, Cagesiders. This isn't likely to become a more sane story any time soon.