Despite indications from Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon to the contrary (in some quotes which really paint her as out of the loop on this one, as there’s no good reason to willfully misdirect the media here), WWE is promoting Brock Lesnar’s return to mixed-martial arts for UFC 200 tonight (July 9).
In a media scrum held yesterday after the weigh-ins for that pay-per-view (PPV) event, UFC President Dana White discussed how this impromptu partnership with WWE came about:
It was Brock's team, me, Vince and Triple H. Brock Lensar just weighed-in on stage and he's fighting here tomorrow night, so it went great. Listen, Vince and I have had our ups and downs and Vince is a tough character to deal with. He's an animal. It's one of the things that I respect about him. I think he's loosened up a bit on the UFC.
Asked if WWE will be mentioned or promoted on the UFC 200 broadcast, White didn’t specify how they’d handle their new sports entertainment partner, but he was clear it will happen:
The fact that they did this, I wanted to reciprocate, so yes. And they're doing it. If you look today, Brock's weigh-in will be on all social media for WWE. This deal couldn't have worked out any better.
The heavyweight battle between Lesnar and Mark Hunt will be UFC 200’s co-main event. Whether it leads to more fights for Brock, will likely depend on what goes on in the Octagon.
Either way, should opportunities present themself, the door seems to be open for more business to be done between Vince and Dana.