Lesnar eligible to fight in January, says USADA
"The Beast" will be able to make his Octagon return in 2019.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency said that Brock Lesnar officially re-entered the drug-testing pool last week, meaning he'll be eligible to compete again when his suspension ends on January 8, 2019, according to MMAFighting.com's Marc Raimondi.
Lesnar was suspended for one year after failing two drug tests in connection with his fight against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 in 2016.
"After receiving notice of his intent to compete in the UFC, USADA re-entered Brock Lesnar to the testing pool on July 3," the USADA statement read. "With six months and four days remaining on his period of ineligibility, Lesnar will be able to compete on or after January 8, 2019, should he remain in compliance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy."
At Saturday's UFC 226 event, Daniel Cormier called Lesnar into the Octagon after beating Stipe Miocic to win the heavyweight title. A trash-talking Lesnar shoved Cormier, causing a scuffle.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the promotion intends to make the fight happen, though he added he's open to Cormier defending his light heavyweight title in the interim.
Cormier has previously said he'll retire in March 2019, giving the UFC a small window to put the superfight together.