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Just last week, rumors were floating around that Brock Lesnar would be in Las Vegas, Nevada, to attend the UFC 168: "Weidman vs. Silva 2" pay-per-view (PPV) event on Dec. 28, possibly for a meeting with promotion President Dana White about a return to mixed martial arts competition.
Those rumors have now been debunked.
Actually, it appears the entire thing was an elaborate work, done to drum up interest for his imminent return to WWE on tonight's (Dec. 30) episode of Monday Night Raw in Richmond, Virginia. That was always the plan, according to MMAFighting.com:
The return was supposed to be a surprise to fans, as WWE has not advertised or announced Lesnar's return, although sources in the company have confirmed his return on Dec. 30 has always been the plan.
Lesnar has a unique pro wrestling contract where he only works a few major events a year, and does television only leading up to those events. He most recently disappeared from WWE television in August. He will wrestle again at the Royal Rumble, the WWE's second biggest event of the year, on Jan. 26, in Pittsburgh, and again at WrestleMania, on April 6, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
So we're getting Lesnar back on Raw tonight to build to a match at Royal Rumble and, eventually, a match with Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Sorry, UFC fans!
WWE also released a statement clearing up the rumors that Brock's contract is written up in such a way as to allow him to compete in MMA if he so chooses, again from MMA Fighting:
"WWE has exclusive rights to services (to Lesnar) and such exclusivity extends to ultimate fighting competitions."
There you have it.
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