Brock Lesnar (5-3) could once again find a home in the UFC's Octagon.
Rumours are swirling around the internet that Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion, could make his return to the Nevada-based promotion later this year.
According to a report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the UFC are considering booking Lesnar in a trilogy fight against his arch rival Frank Mir (17-9) if they can acquire the hottest free agent in combat sports.
Lesnar, the current WWE champion, certainly set tongues wagging last weekend when he made an unannounced appearance at UFC 184.
Without saying a single word or throwing a single punch, Lesnar sent the thousands inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles and millions on social media into a frenzy.
What was Lesnar doing there? Well that's the multi-million dollar question.
The 37 year old is the hottest property in combat sports, and his WWE contract is set to expire at midnight on March 31 (AEST).
Lesnar has a cushy deal with the elite pro wrestling promotion, drawing a remarkable salary for what is essentially a part time schedule.
With a dream contract on the table, many suspected that Lesnar would re-up with WWE for a few more years, but now it seems that negotiations between both parties have gone south.
Last week, the WWE promoted Lesnar to appear on their Monday Night Raw broadcast on social media 20 minutes before air time, but Lesnar never appeared on the episode. Reports are varied, but all say the former NCAA Division I champion wrestler walked out, not happy with how negotiations on a new deal were progressing.
At UFC 184 those negotiations became very public. A coy UFC president Dana White later said that Lesar "was in town and wanted to come see the fight" at the post-fight press conference, but many believe that there's more to the story.
The Lesnar-UFC rumours have failed to go away and recent months have only further fuelled them. Whether or not both sides will ever come together again is up in the air at this stage, but it's very clear that there's money to be made if Lesnar wanted to make one final run in the sport.
The 6'3" and 283 pound (128kg) behemoth is a bona fide box office draw. Look no further than the fact that all four of the blockbuster events headlined by Lesnar capped $1 million buys on pay-per-view in North America alone.
UFC aren't the only promotion fighting for Lesnar's signature though - Bellator MMA, the UFC's biggest competitor, have thrown their name in the hat as well.
Bellator are a significantly smaller that the UFC. They have a limited amount of world-ranked fighters, typically host all their events from tiny venues and have practically no presence on pay-per-view, but they have an ace up their sleeve.
The company is owned by Viacom, the world's sixth largest broadcasting and cable company, which gives them as many, if not more, resources than any of the other horses in the race.
Whether or not Lesnar's future is in a wrestling ring or an MMA cage is anyone's guess at this point. The only thing we know for sure is that Lesnar might be the luckiest man in combat sports.
**Article originally appeared on MMA Kanvas
