After suffering a severe case of diverticulosis that threatened to end his MMA career, UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar could make his long awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 116 on July 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to MMA junkie the promotion is targeting July 3 for an event date in Las Vegas. A venue for the show, which will likely be UFC 116, has not been determined, and the UFC has not yet reserved the date with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

It is uncertain who Lesnar would face in his return but UFC President Dana White notes that the winner of the upcoming Cain Velasquez/Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira bout at UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia could be a possibility.

Although it would certainly make more sense for Lesnar to fight the winner of the UFC 111 interim-heavyweight championship bout between Shane Carwin and Frank Mir to unify the titles. White says that if the winner of that matchup is ready to go by July then he will make that fight happen.


"We've got to find out what's going to happen with the next two fights, the heavyweight fights, and then we'll figure out what we're going to do," White said Thursday to the media. "If those guys come out of that fight healthy, we'll do that fight."

If the new interim-champion is unable to compete so soon against Lesnar, then Lesnar will defend his crown against either Velasquez or Nogueira. Whoever comes out on top in that collision will then challenge either Mir or Carwin for the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship.

White and Lesnar announced his planned return two weeks ago on ESPN's "Sportscenter" and during a subsequent and impromptu media teleconference.

The monstrous champion said he has already re-gained 20 pounds of muscle after dropping 40 pounds to the intestinal infection.

"I know one thing," Lesnar said of the UFC heavyweight division during the teleconference. "All them guys are [expletive"> in their pants right now."

Currently, no other participants are rumored for the July event.