UFC
Brock Lesnar to meet with Mayo Clinic doctors on Thursday; believes Shane Carwin will beat Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131
May 26, 2011 - 4:30:28 PM Brock Lesnar to meet with Mayo Clinic doctors on Thursday; believes Shane Carwin will beat Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will make a decision on his next step for recovery today as he meets with doctors at the Mayo Clinic to discuss the options for dealing with his latest battle with diverticulitis.

UFC President Dana White said this week that Lesnar's head is "in a good place" heading into his appointment, and Lesnar himself discussed his issues again this week in an interview with Mauro Ranallo on "The Fight Show."

"I'm very disappointed," Lesnar said (transcribed by Zach Arnold at FightOpinion.com). "This has not only mentally but this has been very physically strenuous on me, you know, since my first bout with diverticulitis in 2009. Having to back away from a fight is not something that I think anybody likes to do, surely me, you know, the first time it happened to me and to fall under the same circumstances.

"I thought I had this thing beaten and I'm very disappointed, but getting past that and [understanding] that my health is very important. [I've] got another doctor's appointment on Thursday and a consultation where we're going to go over and just try to figure out the best approach to try to handle this and it may be surgery and it may be not. We're reviewing other options here to try to help me but, you know, I want to get back into the Octagon sooner than later."

Lesnar again was asked about his fighting future, and he reiterated that regardless of what decision he makes on recovering from his illness this time around, this will not spell the end of his career.

"No, it's not over," he said flatly. "I mean, even talking with the doctors about the possibility of surgery... it's not a career-ending surgery by any means, so [I've] just got to weigh out all my options at this time and see if that is the right thing to do or [if] there's any other medication that I can be on or any other thing, I don't know how I can change my diet any more than I have but we're looking down all avenues right now and I foresee in the near future that I'll be able to step back in the Octagon."

With Lesnar forced out of his UFC 131 fight with Junior Dos Santos, his UFC 116 opponent Shane Carwin has stepped up for that fight. And Lesnar told Ranallo that he believed Carwin would win the fight any way he wanted and anywhere he took the fight. But while that fight is taking place without him, Lesnar is still intent on returning to action and working his way back towards a shot at regaining the Heavyweight Championship.

"Well, it really has been rather overwhelming," Lesnar said of his time in MMA thus far. "I mean, I've been very gratified and it's been a great time. The company and Dana and Lorenzo [Fertitta], they've all been very good to me in putting my health first and foremost and so I'm really happy with my career thus far in the UFC and I look forward to continuing my fight career and facing and hopefully one day becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion again."

Penick's Analysis: While his illness is certainly a very serious issue, thankfully it's nowhere near as severe as what he battled at the end of 2009. The fact that surgery, as an option, isn't a career-threatening issue is a very positive thing, and he just needs to find out what the best option is for him to take care of this so that he can make a real return to action. Hopefully by getting this taken care of he can return maybe by the end of the year or early 2012 at the latest, and can get himself right back into the mix near the top of the division.



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