Brock Lesnar? Fedor Emelianenko? Nate Diaz? This could be UFC's biggest night ever
If this is true... If some of it is true... If ANY of it is true, this would be big. As in, the biggest night in UFC history big.
While the UFC was staging a stacked card Saturday including two title fights at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., news broke on three different fronts that could rock the sport to its core, if everything pans out. Of course, there is a chance it could all amount to nothing, but the opposite could be true, as well.
Let's review them in order of most likely to be true to least lightly to be true:
• Fedor Emelianenko, the popular former PRIDE heavyweight champion, will fight June 17 in St. Petersburg, Russia, on a card that will be streamed by, but not promoted by, the UFC. Could that, though, be a sign that Emelianenko and the UFC are moving closer to a deal that would bring "The Last Emperor" to the UFC?
• Nate Diaz met with UFC president Dana White on Saturday and posted a video of the two of them together on social media. The implication of the post was that Diaz may have reached a deal to fight a rematch with Conor McGregor.
• Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion, is negotiating a return to MMA to fight at UFC 200, Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported.
Is this true? Or even any of it?
The answer is, yes, some is true, though there is a lot we don't know.
For certain, Emelianenko will fight on Fight Pass on June 17. The UFC's verified Fight Pass twitter account tweeted the news.
What is important to note in this case is that Emelianenko is not fighting on a UFC-promoted card, just a show it is streaming on Fight Pass. But the fact the sides reached agreement for Emelianenko to appear on Fight Pass might indicate there is interest between the two in working together.
Some regard Emelianenko as the greatest fighter of all-time, and the UFC made several tries to sign him, without success. Even though he's far past his prime, it would be a big deal were he to sign in the UFC.
Now, to Diaz. He posted a selfie with White on SnapChat, and he posted a photo on Instagram of him giving White what he calls "The Stockton Slap."
The UFC has been trying to rematch Diaz and McGregor. First it targeted UFC 200 and later, potentially UFC 202. But White has said publicly several times that the sides were far apart. Diaz said he wouldn't fight unless he got what he feels he's worth.
He doesn't say he's made a deal. He never mentioned McGregor. But this seems like a big hint, particularly since he walked into The Forum with White on Saturday.
And finally, Lesnar, who was the biggest star in the UFC universe during his first go-round, which went from 2008 through 2011. He won the heavyweight title, but suffered from diverticulitis that forced him to cut short his career.
Helwani is a highly reliable reporter. He wrote, "Both sides are close to finalizing a deal, and if all goes well, Lesnar's return to mixed martial arts could be announced imminently."
Yahoo Sports has reached out to White and a Lesnar representative for comment.
If true, it will be about as big as anything the UFC could do now in terms of acquiring talent.
It is important to note that out of all of this, the only thing that is certain to happen is that Emelianenko will fight on Fight Pass on another promoter's show. If that's it, it would be cool but not that big of a deal.
But if Lesnar returns and the UFC signs Emelianenko and Diaz agreed to terms to face McGregor, well, this would be a seismic night in the mixed martial arts industry.
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