After his appearance at UFC 226 on Saturday, USADA has provided some clarity on when Brock Lesnar will be able to make his return to the Octagon.
USADA issued a statement today confirming that Lesnar has been re-entered into their testing pool and will be eligible to fight again on January 8, 2019 if all goes well: “After receiving notice of his intent to compete in the UFC, Brock Lesnar re-entered the testing pool on July 3. With six months and four days remaining on his period of ineligibility, Lesnar will be able to compete on or after January 8, 2019, should he remain in compliance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy.”
Lesnar had received a one-year suspension in 2016 for drug test failures that surrounded his UFC 200 fight against Mark Hunt. That suspension was then frozen when Lesnar retired from mixed martial arts.
Dana White has confirmed that the UFC will be making heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier vs. Lesnar when Lesnar is able to fight again. Cormier, who is currently a two-division champion, may defend his light heavyweight title before then. On Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show today, Cormier mentioned Shogun Rua as a potential opponent in that weight class.