Healthy, Rejuvenated Following His Second Bout With Diverticulitis, Brock Lesnar Is Back and His Destination is Gold

Can you imagine Brock Lesnar without confidence?

Believe it. And it’s all tied to the diverticulitis.

Lesnar successfully beat the potentially fatal bug that forced doctor’s to remove a foot of his colon in 2009—twice. The first time he reemerged to successfully defend the UFC heavyweight strap in a come-from-behind victory against Shane Carwin. When it hit him again, it sent him reeling and nearly decimated his confidence.

“It [screws] with your mind, too,” says Lesnar. “I was feeling a bit depressed. You lose your confidence. There’s a lot of different things. Now I feel damn good to be in the gym, and I’m healthy.”

The mental aspect of beating the disease was just as important as Lesnar’s physical recovery. Unable to continue training, he flatly refused to sit on the couch and accept the cruel hand life dealt. He stayed active. At times, a little too active for some.

“More active than I think my wife wanted me to be,” says Lesnar. “There was a need for me to get back to my grassroots and do manual labor. The things I love to do. It was just as much therapy. It was good for the mind and the soul at the same time.”

To pass the near three-month period of no contact, Lesnar did everything from hunting to farm work to busting concrete. Downtime became family time. When he got back in the gym, it was as if nothing changed. Even talk of potential retirement seems silly.

“There’s no reason for me to retire right now,” he says. “Now that this illness is behind me, I’m healthy. I’m 34-years-old. I feel extraordinary. I still enjoy it. I still love it. I’ve got the desire to be the UFC heavyweight champion.”

But talk of retirement there was.

The Writer: Anthony Springer, a Las Vegas resident, is always on Ultimate MMA’s “main card.”

CREDIT: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
NOTE: The full story is in the January issue.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed