Brock Lesnar Still Expected To Fight In 2019, Could Attend UFC 230

UFC president Dana White still expects Brock Lesnar to return to the octagon in early 2019 for a heavyweight title fight.

Lesnar created headlines in July when he confronted a victorious Daniel Cormier who had just won the heavyweight title from Stipe Miocic via first round knockout at UFC 226.

It set in motion a title fight between the two heavyweights but a second return to the UFC would only take place in January at the earliest for Lesnar, who still had to serve the remaining months of his United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension for a previous failed drug test from his first return in 2016.

Cormier, as a result, will receive the biggest payday of his career when he faces Lesnar, and has maintained it would be his last fight before he turns 40 in March and retires afterward. However, there were doubts as to whether the fight was still on.

"DC" was recently booked to defend his heavyweight title on short notice against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 on Nov. 3. Having carried a hand injury from his fight with Miocic, it is not clear if Cormier is 100 percent for the Lewis fight.

It is also a big risk as he could not only lose his title to Lewis, but also lose the opportunity to face Lesnar, though he is still confident of a victory.

In addition, many were speculating that Lesnar, who has been drug tested six times by USADA this year so far, may have failed a drug test, potentially putting the fight off, which is why Cormier was now facing Lewis.

However, White put all those assumptions to rest as he claimed the plan is still for the WWE star to compete early next year.

“Yeah, I plan on Brock Lesnar fighting soon," White told ESPN's Brett Okamoto in a recent interview.

Lesnar was previously reported to be off WWE Raw storylines since losing his Universal title to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam to focus on his UFC comeback. He has made just one appearance since on WWE television and is also expected to feature in their Crown Jewel event which takes place Nov. 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

But with Reigns, whose real name is Joe Anoa'i, recently revealing he had leukemia and is vacating his Universal title, as well as the uncertainty surrounding whether the event will still take place in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder in a Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey, it remains to be seen as to whether Lesnar will be traveling with the rest of the roster.

The Minnesota native was expected to face Reigns and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match, and should the event still take place, could just face Strowman now.

Should that be the case, it will be hard for Lesnar to be in attendance at UFC 230 for another potential showdown with Cormier, or even Lewis, as the event takes place a day after in Madison Square Garden, New York.

However, it's not entirely out of the question either as White wouldn't be surprised if he received a call from Lesnar.

“Brock Lesnar might be in New York. That’s not guaranteed," White added. "We haven’t talked about it or anything else but I wouldn’t be surprised if he called and said ‘I’m coming to the fight.'"