FWIW

When 32-year-old UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar fell ill last October, the top promotion in mixed martial arts was suddenly left without its biggest star.

Last November, Lesnar was hospitalized with a severe bacterial infection in his intestinal tract and forced to withdraw from his much-anticipated title fight with Shane Carwin. Lesnar was eventually released from Bismarck hospital in North Dakota and reported to be in stable condition. But UFC president Dana White was unsure if the champ would ever fight again.

Miraculously, Lesnar (4-1) will fight again … and his first fight back will likely be in 2010. His next opponent? The winner of the upcoming interim title fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin at UFC 111.

With White at his side, Lesnar appeared exclusively on ESPN’s SportsCenter to let the world know he would be returning to the Octagon after a near-fatal bout with diverticulitis.

“Let’s make it clear,” said a smiling Lesnar. “I still am the UFC heavyweight champion.”


Lesnar opened up about the severity of his illness, multiple misdiagnoses and how doctors called his speedy recovery “a miracle.”

“I was just feeling sick for the longest time,” said the champ. “My camp wasn’t going well. I missed almost three weeks, I kept going to the doctor and couldn’t find out what the problem was. Finally I said to my trainers, I can’t do this fight.”

Doctors originally diagnosed Lesnar with mononucleosis. But while on a hunting trip in Canada, Lesnar’s condition turned for the worst.

“I had a lot of stomach pain. One night I woke up and I was in severe shock. I had a 104 degree fever and I felt like I was shot in the guts.”

In agonizing pain, Lesnar returned home and soon discovered that he was suffering from severe swelling of an abnormal pouch in the intestinal wall, better known as diverticulitis. Lesnar was put on antibiotics to counter the infection, but after 11 days in the hospital, he lost a staggering 40 pounds.

Lesnar then visited the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where medical experts suggested a procedure to remove his colon. Wary of the procedure, Lesnar took recovery into his own hand and did the one thing he’s known all of his life – he hit the gym. Miraculously, Lesnar packed on 30 pounds in less than two months, and a checkup on January 5th revealed that the champ was back to full health.

Clinical experts were stunned.

“They were dumbfounded,” Lesnar said. “They couldn’t find signs of anything wrong with my stomach. It’s just a miracle to me. I’ve had three or four different opinions and colonoscopies and CT scans. There’s literally no sign of anything even existing in there.”

Another CT scan on Tuesday verified Brock’s rapid return to health.

“It’s been a crazy ride,” said UFC President Dana White. “Forget about the career side. He was looking at a different quality of life if he needed this surgery. Basically the doctors said he got a lottery ticket. It’s a miracle.”

We couldn’t have said it better.

Lesnar is back.