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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The UFC certainly would have liked to bring Brock Lesnar back to the organization this year, but the former Heavyweight Champion's decision to re-sign with the WWE this week closes the door on that.
For their part, the UFC is happy that Lesnar himself is happy, and harbor no ill will towards the man who was their biggest pay-per-view draw ever during his tenure in the organization. UFC President Dana White expressed as much in a quick reactionary interview with Fox Sports.
"I'm happy for him," White said. "He was always a stand up guy; I mean, even this. I knew this three hours ago. He called us and let us know. From what I understand, Vince made him a deal that he couldn't refuse, [which is] awesome, I'm happy to hear that. I'm happy for both of them."
"This is a sport where you've got to be all in... Brock had a really good stint here, he did some amazing things, and it was fun to have him."
Penick's Analysis: The UFC would have loved to have the pay-per-view buys that Lesnar's return would have brought them. In another year where they're still facing injury shakeups at the top of cards, having a Lesnar return on the docket would have been big. But it's not an dire situation for the UFC not to have Lesnar return, and White has made that "all in" type of comment multiple times before. If Lesnar wasn't able to mentally and physically commit - and he admitted his struggles with the former were a reason he couldn't - then there was no point in making another UFC run. He'll be much happier in the WWE, and he'll be able to affect their business positively for a much longer time than he would have in the UFC this time around.
[Dana White art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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