The current UFC heavyweight champion and 4-time all-American wrestler Brock Lesnar is finally recovered and ready for his UFC return. Lesnar will most likely defend his title during the summer of 2010. UFC President Dana White and Brock Lesnar were interviewed live this morning on ESPN’s SportsCenter to confirm the news. Lesnar provided all of the details as far as how everything started, his recovery from diverticulitis (without surgery) and the miracle of making a quick octagon return to defend his title.
Snip from Brock Lesnar:
“Unbeknownst to me I was just feeling sick for the longest time throughout my training camp preparing for Carwin. My training wasn’t going well, I missed almost three weeks of my training camp. Kept going to the doctor, couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Finally, it was a Monday I said to my trainer I can’t do this fight…I went to the doctor and they diagnosed me with mononucleosis. That didn’t sound right, I’m pretty sure I had it as a kid. I was devastated just to back out of the fight. I decided to get away, and take a trip up to Canada and do some hunting. I could either stay at home and sit on the couch and climb the walls or go to Canada and do something I would enjoy. So I got up there and still didn’t feel right. Had a lot of severe stomach pain and one night I woke up in severe shock, had a 104 temperature, and felt like I was shot in the guts…I went to the hospital in Canada, realized quickly that I had to get out of Canadian healthcare, and get down to Bismark, to the United States, at Medcenter One. I take my hat off to this doctor there. They diagnosed me with diverticulitis, I had a severe case, I had a rupture of one of my diverticuli, which means I had a hole in my stomach…I was in the hospital for 11 days, no food, no water, fed intravenously, lost 40lbs, got out of the hospital, went home decided I wanted a second opinion…Went down to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, both doctors in Bismark and the Mayo Clinic diagnosed and said I need surgery, I need my colon removed, but we can’t until the swelling goes down. So I pretty much had it in my mind that I was going to have surgery…My answer was I have to have the surgery, and I didn’t want to if I could beat the odds, I was going to do everything in my power to do that. I had another check-up after the first of the year, I went home, I went back to the gym, got my weight back up, I put about 30lbs back on, went back into the doctor Jan 5 and a miracle. They were dumbfounded. They couldn’t find any signs of any problem in my stomach, it’s a miracle to me…I actually had to go back to the doctor yesterday before I came out here to get another CT scan on my stomach cause I still can’t believe it. [In regards to the possibility of somehow having the disease return and haunt him later in his career] No, not at all. I’ve had 3 or 4 different opinions, I’ve had colonoscopy’s done, the CT scans, there’s literally no sign of anything even existing in there…I believe in the mind is a powerful thing and just everyday I was put in a position, I had to view my life and the world in a different, I had a different take on the world. When you have everything taken away from you and you’re laying helplessly in your hospital bed, not sure if I’m going to get back in the Octagon, something I’ve just grown to love to do, this is my life…I’ve always been in control. I’ve been in control of my life, I’ve been in control of my surroundings and for me to sit there for 15 or 30 days, not having control of anything let me tell you, I’ve got to thank my wife and my family for sticking by my side, Dana and the UFC, and my sponsors. These people put everything on the line for Brock Lesnar. [Regarding whether or not he still remains UFC heavyweight champion and if he’ll be able to return to the octagon to defend his title] Let’s be clear with that…I am still the UFC heavyweight champion.”
Snip from UFC President Dana White:
“[Where Brock Lesnar stands in the UFC today] Because he’s been out so long and we were so unsure on what was going to happen, we have a fight in Newark, NJ on March 27 and undefeated Shane Carwin is going to fight the former heavyweight champion, Frank Mir, the winner of that fight will be the interim champion and will face Brock Lesnar this summer.”
