Brock Lesnar has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts for the second time in his career.
Lesnar had initially hung up his gloves in late 2011 after a two-fight losing streak, but he made a surprise return to the Octagon gainst Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in the summer of 2016.
Lesnar won by unanimous decision that night and in the aftermath of the fight he claimed it was the most fun he’d had in years and didn’t rule out the possibility of continuing to compete.
However, it later emerged that Lesnar had tested positive for the banned substance, clomiphene, an estrogen blocker, and last month the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended him for one year and fined him $250,000 as well as amendeding the result of the fight to a ‘no contest’.
Hunt has also recently filed a civil lawsuit against both Lesnar and the UFC, alleging conspiracy, racketeering and fraud.
With that in mind it’s quite possible that the 39 year-old Lesnar has decided that continuing to compete in the Octagon would be more trouble than it’s worth.
Lesnar’s one-and-done second stint in the UFC leaves his overall career record standing at 5-3 (+1nc).
The WWE star’s retirement rules out another proven box-office draw for the UFC, who are already struggling in the early stages of 2017 with Ronda Rousey looking unlikely to return after losing twice in a row, while Conor McGregor is on an indefinite hiatus and is spending his time attempting to pursue a boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr instead.
