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"I'm feeling a hundred percent. I haven't felt like this for almost a year and a half. It's just crazy. I've had to get back and work my way back up because I lost a lot of weight. I thought maybe... I'd go down to 205 but decided I like steak and potatoes; now I got to eat my roughage too. Listen, when I left the hospital, the next day I was in the gym. I was just doing a little cardio, a little sauna, just to get the sweat going and some weights. I've had to work up from ground zero. And I've actually had to build my base up again. Now I'm damn near right there. I'm live and well, I'm still the UFC Heavyweight Champion and ready to kick some ass."
-Brock Lesnar talks to UFC.com (transcribed by Nick Thomas at BloodyElbow.com) following his appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter to announce his return and breakdown the illness issues he's had over the last few months.
Penick's Analysis: Lesnar's seemingly miraculous recovery is huge, and he seems to be well on his way back in both size and spirits in both his ESPN appearance and in this video as well. With the fact that he's able to get back to training right now he should have no problem being back to peak condition, and likely better than he was while he's been battling this for the length of time he had been. It's great to see that he's recovered from this and, with as bad as it really had gotten per his ESPN interview yesterday, it is first and foremost good to see that he's healthy. That he's going to fight again is a great thing for fans and the UFC, and of course for him, but the "being able to live a healthy life" going forward is the most important aspect for him and his family. Getting back to the fight part of it, his return is going to be huge, and the summer date could land him as the headliner for Boston at the end of August. If it's against Mir for the third time, after Mir has soundly defeated Kongo and would have gotten through Carwin, it could very well break the buyrate that the UFC set at UFC 100. If it's Carwin, he'll have had to defeat Mir in a high profile bout and would have earned his shot much more than had he fought Lesnar in November. Whomever it ends up being, this summer's got a blockbuster heading its way.
[Brock Lesnar art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch Editor-in-Chief]
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