Ranking Brock Lesnar's Potential Opponents For UFC 200

With this weekend's shocking news that WWE superstar Brock Lesnar will be returning to the world of combat sports to compete at UFC 200, both the worlds of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts were knocked on their rear ends.

The former UFC and WWE heavyweight champion's career inside the octagon was cut short largely due to his struggles with diverticulitis, a crippling ailment that caused him to have over a foot of his intestines surgically removed, and when his contract with WWE was up for renegotiation he flirted with the idea of returning to the UFC and continuing his legacy inside the cage.

Ultimately, he decided to remain in the arena of scripted combat rather than the very real fights that take place in the UFC, essentially closing the door on any possible return to fighting in several interviews following his re-signing with WWE.

Rumors that Lesnar was in talks to return for what is supposed to be a one-off fight began to circulate the day UFC 199 was airing, and during the event a promo video aired confirming that Brock would be competing on what is meant to be the organization's biggest card of all-time.

But who will he face? An opponent has yet to be named, but there isn't a lengthy list of options due to most of the heavyweight division already being committed to other fights on different cards. We're going to take a look at who is a possibility and rank them in order of likelihood.

On the surface this one seems fairly unlikely. Emelianenko, for years considered by most fight fans to be the greatest heavyweight, if not overall fighter, in the sport, has always been a name that fight aficionados have greatly wanted to see in the UFC. It's come close to happening several times, but negotiations have always stalled between the two parties, leaving us with a huge "what if?" regarding how the former Pride FC champ would have fared in in a different environment.

Fedor went on an amazing 27-fight win streak where he conquered some of the top names in the game (as well as padding his record with freakshow fights and guys who had no business in the ring with him) before it all came grinding to a halt with his sicking defeat in Strikeforce at the hands of the recently uncrowned UFC HW champ Fabricio Wedrum.

The downward spiral continued with back-to-back TKO losses to Antonio "Bigfoot" SIlva and Dan Henderson to wrap up his run in Strikeforce. Fedor retired in 2012 but mounted a comeback this past December for Japanese upstart promotion Rizin Fighting Federation, where he defeated Singh Jaideep in what was only his third MMA fight.

Emelianenko's next scheduled fight is set to take place in his home country of Russia on June 17th under the Fight Nights Global banner against former UFC competitor Fabio Maldonado. But that could easily change if the right situation where to present itself.

Both Brock and Fedor have expressed a desire to fight each other in the past with Dana White claiming he tried to book the fight for Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas and the all-time great - despite being long past his prime - is exactly the kind of blockbuster name that would drive anticipation through the roof. The only things making a fight with Fedor less likely to happen are his lack of business acumen when it comes to his career, a desire to fight in his home country and the fact that many of today's casual MMA fans have no idea who he is or the legacy he carries with him.