Will Brock Lesnar and CM Punk ever return to the Octagon? UFC president Dana White gives us an update on their status.

Two of the biggest MMA stories of 2016 involved popular pro wrestlers stepping into the Octagon for real fights. One was a return, as former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar ended five-year retirement to come back at UFC 200 to defeat Mark Hunt. The other was CM Punk, who finally stepped in for the first time but was beaten badly by Mickey Gall at UFC 203.

The future of both men is very much up in the air at the moment - Lesnar was suspended for a year after failing a drug test, while Punk’s one-sided loss made a UFC return seem unlikely at first.

Well, TMZ Sports caught up with UFC president Dana White, and got an update on the status of both men. First up, he doesn’t like Lesnar will fight again:

“I doubt it. I don’t know how much longer he’s got with WWE. I think his career is winding down but he’s a freak of nature. Who knows. Maybe he’ll give me a call and say he wants to do it again, but I think he’s ready to ride off into the sunset.”

With Punk, there seems to be more optimism, but not a ton:

“He and I have not figured that out yet, but we will.

“I don’t know. I’ve got to talk to him and see how this thing works out for him. UFC’s a dangerous place, man. It really is. It’s a tough place to come in for your first couple fights. I give him all the credit and respect in the world for coming in and giving it a shot. It’s a tough place to do it though. But we’ll see what happens. I love the guy.”

Punk himself mentioned not long ago that he had talked to Dana about they were coming up with something, so that doesn’t really jive with what White is saying. Regardless though, for now it appears that we may have just seen the last of Lesnar and Punk in the promotion. But who knows.