UFC 300 will be a massive card, but there was never a plan for any former stars to return for the historic event on April 13.
That’s according to UFC CEO Dana White, who promised that matchmaking for that card is still taking place. He said several more marquee bouts are expected to be added, but the promotion never sought out names like Ronda Rousey, Georges St-Pierre or Brock Lesnar to make a surprising return.
Back at UFC 200, Lesnar returned to the sport after a lengthy layoff, but White added an option like that was never even explored.
“Ronda’s not coming back,” White told Sportsnet in Canada. “GSP’s not coming back. Brock Lesnar’s like 45 years old or pushing 50. None of those calls were made.”
Considering the significance of the event, it’s easy to imagine the UFC would pull out all stops to build the card. Unfortunately, many of the names on that list have been retired or out of competition for several years at this point.
Rousey last competed in 2016, when she suffered a second straight knockout loss before leaving the UFC to pursue a career in professional wrestling. She recently exited the WWE at the end of her contract, but she has stayed busy raising her family and continuing to perform in the wrestling ring on the independent circuit.
As for St-Pierre, his most recent fight happened in 2017, and at 42 years old, he’s made it clear that his fighting days are behind him. The same goes for Lesnar, who will celebrate his 47th birthday in July.
White says those kinds of matchups were never entertained, but he promises UFC 300 will live up to expectations, especially when it comes to the depth of the event.
There’s already one title fight between strawweight champion Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan, and it’s expected more championships will go up for grabs that night. Add to that, UFC 300 already touts seven former champions, and it sounds like there’s more to come before the matchmakers are finished.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anything out of left field,” White said. “This is just going to be a type of card we’ve never done before. Every fight is a must see fight.”
White didn’t say how soon he would be announcing more fights for UFC 300, but he’s been steadily releasing information over the past few weeks. As of now, UFC 300 still doesn’t have a main event, so that’s undoubtedly the biggest slot to fill in the near future.
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