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Stefan Struve on Brock Lesnar’s potential UFC return: ‘He doesn’t belong here’
LAS VEGAS – Count Stefan Struve as one UFC heavyweight who doesn’t want to see former champion Brock Lesnar make another return to the octagon.
Speculation about Lesnar (5-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) competing again in the UFC are swirling once more; UFC President Dana White added fuel to the fire on Sunday when he posted a side-by-side picture with Lesnar in Las Vegas.
Lesnar’s most recent UFC comeback, which took place at UFC 200 in July 2016, concluded controversially when he failed multiple drug tests for his fight with Mark Hunt.
The 40-year-old, who is the current WWE Universal champion, is nearing the end of his current contract with the professional wrestling organization, and there’s reportedly mutual interest with the UFC for another fight. He still has more than six months to serve on his U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension before another MMA bout can take place, but Struve (28-9 MMA, 12-7 UFC) said he doesn’t want to see it.
“No (he shouldn’t fight again); he doesn’t belong here in my opinion,” Struve told MMAjunkie at today’s UFC 222 media day. “He got caught, and just look at that guy. He’s a physical specimen, but it doesn’t make sense. The way they brought him in with the exemption for him not having to do the testing for the four months when he came back – that’s ridiculous. You bring someone back, a guy who looks like him, and he doesn’t have to get tested, and then fights? Mark Hunt, he’s in the right. Of course he’s upset with that.”
Struve, who meets Andrei Arlovski (26-15 MMA, 15-9 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 222 pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, said he understands why UFC brass would want to promote another Lesnar fight. The hulking heavyweight has been one of the biggest cash cows for the company each time he’s in the cage, but from Struve’s perspective, it’s not worth risking further damage to the integrity of the sport for a one-off PPV score.
“I get why they’ll bring him back, because he brings pay-per-views,” Struve said. “But also he brings a certain image that’s … not good for the sport.”
For complete coverage of UFC 222, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
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