Brock Lesnar intimates UFC that he is retiring from the sport

Brock Lesnar has informed the UFC that he will be retiring from mixed martial arts, according to a UFC spokesperson as per MMA Fighting.

The WWE star made his return to the octagon after five years in July 2016 at UFC 200 where he faced Mark Hunt in a heavyweight bout. However, there has been no official comment from the wrestler about his decision to retire from UFC.

Lesnar won the fight via a unanimous 29-27, 29-27, 29-28 decision, but it was later revealed that he tested positive twice for clomiphene, a banned substance, and was subsequently suspended by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a year.

In addition, Lesnar was fined $250,000 (£200,000) and his win over Hunt was also overturned to a no contest.

The 39-year-old – who is yet to make a public statement on his suspension – was eligible to return to action on 15 July, but with his retirement, his suspension has now been frozen and he is no longer in the drug testing pool as per the company's policy.

"Pursuant to the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, all UFC athletes serving a period of ineligibility for an anti-doping policy violation are required to remain in the USADA registered testing pool and make themselves available for testing in order to receive credit for time served under his or her sanction," a statement from the agency on Lesnar stated.

"Furthermore, if an athlete retires during his or her period of ineligibility, the athlete's sanction will be tolled until such time the athlete notifies USADA of his or her return from retirement and once again makes him or herself available for no-advance-notice, out-of-competition testing."

If Lesnar has a change of heart and decides to return to the UFC, he would still have to serve five months and reenter the testing pool.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota native has been featuring in the WWE since his UFC suspension and recently appeared in the Royal Rumble and will be preparing to face off against Goldberg at Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando on 2 April 2017.