Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has informed the mixed martial arts promotion that he is retired from competition.

The UFC confirmed Lesnar's decision Wednesday.

The decision doesn't affect Lesnar's professional wrestling career, where he has spent most of the past five years.

He returned from a 4 1/2-year MMA absence last July to beat Mark Hunt at UFC 200, but the result was overturned after Lesnar failed two doping tests. He was subsequently suspended from competition for a year by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which administers the UFC's doping policy.

Lesnar's decision to retire means he has been removed from USADA's drug-testing pool, which monitors the fighters year-round.

If Lesnar decides to return to competition, he would have to serve the remaining five months of his suspension.

 

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