Understandably, both the pro-wrestling and the MMA fraternities have been buzzing since it was announced that Brock Lesnar is fighting at UFC 200 against Mark Hunt. But any potential talk of Lesnar jumping ship from pro-wrestling to MMA on a longer term was promptly doused by the WWE when they announced that he would return to feature at SummerSlam.
But will he?
As Fight Network reports, Laz Benitez of the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) clarified that a New York State certified physician has to clear Lesnar to compete at the SummerSlam event that is scheduled to be held at the Barclay’s Centre in Brooklyn.
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The NYSAC oversees both pro-wrestling and MMA events held in the state, and this could prove to be cumbersome for the WWE should Brock get injured badly in his scheduled UFC 200 bout against Mark Hunt.
Given that UFC 200 is pencilled in for July 9th and WWE SummerSlam for August 21st of this year, there seems to be enough time for him to recover from his exertions in the Octagon and be ready to return to the squared circle.
But against the knockout machine that is Mark Hunt, it would seem that the WWE are taking a risk pre-advertising him for SummerSlam without waiting for the fight to take place first, and then assessing him.
But rules are already being bent to allow Lesnar to compete at UFC 200 as the USADA Anti-Doping policy states that an athlete that is coming out of retirement to compete in the UFC has to be available for testing 4 months in advance to the protracted date of his return.
Given how big of an attraction he is, it is entirely conceivable that more such rules may be bent in allowing him to appear at SummerSlam after all.