Lesnar, 39, who had his first MMA fight in June 2007, had previously left the UFC in 2011 after suffering diverticulitis -- an intestinal disease -- and undergoing emergency surgery. The South Dakota native had returned to the Octagon for UFC 200 in June 2016, where he scored a victory over Mark Hunt. However, that decision was later overturned when Lesnar tested positive for the estrogen blocker clomiphene and the result was changed to a no contest.
Lesnar was handed a year-long ban in January by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which handles drug tests for the UFC, following a similar action in December, plus a $25,000 fine, by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The USADA suspension was made retroactive back to July, meaning that Lesnar could have returned to the Octagon that same month this year, except that his name had been removed from the agency's testing pool, according to the Washington Post. The amount of time left on Lesnar's ban would resume once he resumed testing, but instead it appears that he will leave MMA behind.
As part of Lesnar's punishment for violating the UFC's anti-doping policy, the former wrestler was required to remain in the USADA drug testing pool during the full length of his suspension.
“Pursuant to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, all UFC athletes serving a period of ineligibility for an anti-doing policy violation are required to remain in the USADA registered testing pool and make themselves available for testing in order to receive credit for time served under his or her sanction,†USADA officials said at the time Lesnar's suspension was announced in January.
“Furthermore, if an athlete retires during his or her period of ineligibility, the athlete's sanction will be tolled until such time the athlete notifies USADA of his or her return from retirement and once again makes him or herself available for no-advance-notice, out-of-competition testing.â€
Lesnar's pro MMA record was 5-3, with one no-contest (the bout vs. Hall). He had won the UFC heavyweight title in 2008 by defeating fellow former college wrestler Randy Couture.
Brock Edward Lesnar has spent much of his life involved in sports. In high school, he played football and wrestled at Webster High School, placing third in the heavyweight bracket at the South Dakota state wrestling championships. Lesnar headed north to Bismarck Junior College, where he was National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) heavyweight wrestling champ in 1998.
Lesnar's impressive performance at the Bison Open – and equally impressive physique -- caught the eye of J Robinson, University of Minnesota head wrestling coach, who immediately recruited Lesnar to compete for the Golden Gophers his junior and senior years.
Lesnar created an instant sensation in college wrestling for his appearance and take-no-prisoners wrestling style. With a 20†neck and 56†chest, Lesnar was the subject of a “Brockfast of Champions†poster produced by Minnesota that had callouts pointing to the singlet-wearing Gopher big man's various measurements. Even Dan Gable was impressed. On a telecast of dual meet featuring Lesnar, the legendary NCAA and Olympic wrestling champ and retired Iowa wrestling coach said of the massive Minnesota matman, “When he strips off his warmups, he turns more heads than Cindy Crawford in a thong.â€
While at Minnesota, Lesnar was a two-time Big Ten heavyweight champion and two-time finalist at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. At the 1999 NCAAs, Lesnar lost to defending champ and future New England Patriots star Stephen Neal of Cal State Bakersfield. One year later, Lesnar won the heavyweight title by defeating Big Ten rival Wes Hand of the University of Iowa at the 2000 NCAAs.
After graduation, Lesnar entertained the idea of wrestling freestyle… then tried out for the University of Minnesota football team. However, Lesnar then decided to explore professional wrestling. After two years in the WWE's “minor leaguesâ€, Lesnar was brought into the big time, winning the first of four WWE titles at the age of 25. After his first retirement from UFC in 2011, Lesnar returned to professional wrestling, and has continued to participate in WWE events over the years.
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