UFC 300 will be one of the monumental events of the year, making fans expect that the promotion will bring out the big guns, including its retired and former fighters. Some of the names mentioned in the past included Ronda Rousey, Georges St-Pierre, and Brock Lesnar. CEO Dana White, however, directly dismissed the idea.
Even before the details of UFC 300 were announced, the MMA community had already been anticipating the biggest names in the lineup, such as its current champs and biggest stars. However, there are other earlier reports mentioning the names of past fighters of the company. Three of them are Lesnar, who last fought at UFC 200 in 2016; Rousey, who lost to Amanda Nunes in 2016 in her last fight; and St-Pierre, who made his last success over Michael Bisping in 2017.
Apparently, seeing these names in the event lineup will excite all fans, but White made it clear that it won’t happen.
“Ronda’s not coming back,” White told Sportsnet. “GSP’s not coming back. Brock Lesnar’s like 45 years old or pushing 50. None of those calls were made.”
This is not surprising, especially in the case of GSP, who had already denied the claims earlier. Yet, despite this and the recent comment of PFL’s Don Davis that the company doesn’t always “load up a card,” the executive promised that UFC 300 won’t leave its rosters unchecked with the best names available.
“I don’t think there’s going to be anything out of left field,” White promised. “This is just going to be a type of card we’ve never done before. Every fight is a must-see fight.”
