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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
As Brock Lesnar prepares to step back into the Octagon for the first time in a year next Saturday at UFC 116, fans are sure to see a very different look from the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
His battle with diverticulitis left him 40 lbs. lighter and in need of a new diet for his system to function correctly. Lesnar said he's now on a diet of about 3,200 daily calories, along with 300 grams of protein a day. And while he's come into his previous fights having to cut from around 285 lbs. down to the 265 lb. heavyweight limit, he's coming into his bout with Shane Carwin already on weight a week and a half out from the fight.
Lesnar talked about his health scare during this week's UFC 116 pre-fight teleconference, and the changes he's making to become a better fighter.
"I laid in a hospital bed for two weeks without any food in my body, I couldn't put any food in my mouth," said Lesnar. "To wake up every day, to be on all them drugs and not be able to put any food in your mouth, you definitely take a different look at life."
While the MMA world was speculating as to not only when Lesnar might be able to return but if he'd even be able to fight again, Lesnar says there was a time when he didn't know if he even wanted to try.
"I thought I was on my death bed, I really did," Lesnar said. "At the time i wasn't really sure I wanted to fight again. I had lost so much weight, I thought I was going to have to have major surgery... [and] that would have been a two year process to come back."
The layoff hasn't kept Lesnar in bad spirits, however, and in fact he's found it quite beneficial. With time to recover after being given a clean bill of health in January, Lesnar is expecting to enter UFC 116 in better shape than he was last July.
"This is kind of my second coming, it's brought a lot of light into my camp and my training," he said. "I think the setback for me actually has been a good thing, it has allowed me to sit back and concentrate on my diet and my training."
As for the issue of ring rust, which MMA fans have seen affect many fighters in recent big fights, most notably Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 114 due to a 14 month layoff, Lesnar says he's gone through so much in his training camp that it shouldn't be a factor.
"When I come back I want to be in greater shape and I want to be a better fighter," he said. "If I have any ring rust by the time July 3 runs around it will be a crying shame."
Penick's Analysis: It was great to hear Lesnar in such a good spirits on the conference call this week. This illness really seems to have changed him in some ways for the better, not as a whole, but he's just got a very different outlook on things. The way he was talking about what he went through in the hospital and the way his training has been going, I wholly expect to see the best version we've seen of Lesnar yet come July 3. I hope that's the case, anyway, as it will make for an extremely enjoyable heavyweight title fight if both fighters come in their best shape and ready to go to war.
RELATED STORY: UFC NEWS: Rumors of Brock Lesnar injury a hoax; UFC 116 bout not in danger: [CLICK TO READ FULL ARTICLE]
[Brock Lesnar art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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