It’s official.

On Monday morning, during a live appearance on SportsCenter, former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar announced he would be facing former opponent Mark Hunt in his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas.

This announcement comes just two days after it was revealed Lesnar and the UFC had joined forces again.

Hunt (11-10-1), the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, is coming off a violent first round knockout win over Lesnar’s former rival and fellow champion Frank Mir in March. This extended his knockout streak to two with his previous being a first-round TKO over Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva at UFC 193 in November. after a trying to get back into the win column after suffering a fifth-round TKO to Stipe Miocic at UFC Fight Night 65.

This win got ‘The Super Samoan’ back into the win column and suffering back-to-back TKO loss to former champion Fabricio Werdum and reigning champion Stipe Miocic. He will enter this bout with nine career knockout victories.

For Lesnar (5-3), the NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion, this will mark his first appearance inside the Octagon since suffering a first-round TKO to current number one contender Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in December 2001. Following the defeat, Lesnar announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts due to complications with diverticulitis.

After hanging up the gloves, Lesnar made his return to World Wrestling Entertainment, where he most notably ended the Undertaker’s legendary undefeated streak at Wrestlemania.

Prior hanging up the gloves, Lesnar reached the pinnacle of the sport in Nov. 2008 where fans saw him dethrone then-champion Randy Couture with second-round TKO. He would follow up this performance at the record setting UFC 100 in July 2009, avenging his previous loss to Frank Mir with violent second round TKO. This event still stands as the highest selling pay-per-view in MMA history.

UFC 200 will take place at Las Vegas’s new T-Mobile Arena on July 11. The event will be the culmination of the UFC’s 2016 International Fight Week. A light heavyweight title fight between reigning champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones will serve as the main event.

A women’s bantamweight title fight between Miesha Tate and Amanda Nunes as well as an interim featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar will also appear on the card.

Here is how the rest of the card is shaping up:

About The Author

News Manager

José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.