Former Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar Informs UFC of Retirement

Brock Lesnar has retired from mixed martial arts for a second time.

Multiple outlets confirmed on Tuesday that the ex-heavyweight champion has notified the UFC of his decision. MMAFighting.com first reported the news. Because Lesnar is no longer on the roster of the Las Vegas-based promotion, he has also been removed from the United States Anti-Doping Agency Drug Testing pool.

Lesnar was suspended for one year by both USADA and the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for the estrogen blocker clomiphene in both an in- and out-of-competition drug test in relation to UFC 200. He would have been eligible to return to competition on July 15, 2017. Lesnar would have to complete the remainder of that suspension should he decide to end his retirement at any point.

In his first bout in more than five years, Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt via unanimous decision at UFC 200, but that result was overturned to a no contest following the results of the drug tests. Lesnar initially retired from the UFC following a first-round technical knockout loss to Alistair Overeem in December 2011.