UFC Dana White has not commented on Brock Lesnar’s retirement. Photo: AP
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https://scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2071139/brock-lesnar-reportedly-tells-ufc-he-retiring-fighting-after Other Sport
Brock Lesnar reportedly tells UFC he is retiring from fighting after receiving one-year doping ban
Former heavyweight champion informs officials from promotion he is quitting MMA with five months left on his suspension, according to multiple reports
Randy Couture is taken down by Brock Lesnar during the first round of their UFC world heavyweight title match in 2008. Photo: AP
Brock Lesnar has reportedly told the UFC that he is retiring as a professional fighter.
First reported by MMAFighting.com, ESPN and USA Today later said UFC officials had confirmed the news.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was last month handed a one-year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after two failed doping tests in 2016.
Lesnar first tested positive for the anti-estrogenic substance clomiphene in an out-of-competition test before his bout UFC 200 bout against Mark Hunt last July in Las Vegas, where he also failed his in-competition test.
Having originally been awarded a unanimous decision, Lesnar was stripped of the victory and the fight was ruled a no contest, despite denying he had knowingly taken the banned substance.
The suspension does not affect his professional wrestling career with WWE, with a company spokesperson telling TMZ last year Lesnar is not subject to their own Wellness Policy due to being a part-time performer.
The 39-year-old will no longer be included in USADA’s testing pool, though his suspension will be frozen following his announcement, with five months left to serve if he ever comes out of retirement following a 5-3 career in the UFC.
Lesnar had already come out of retirement once to face Hunt, nearly five years after first walking away from the Octagon having suffered a first-round technical knockout defeat to Alistair Overeem in 2011.