White: Lesnar Could Need More Surgery
Greg Savage Dec 11, 2009
D.
Mandel/Sherdog.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is still fighting a case of diverticulitis, a painful intestinal condition that has been affecting him for over a year, and could require more surgery, according to UFC President Dana White.
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“They figured it out, so the question now is, he’s either going to need major surgery or he’s not and we won’t know for the next couple months,” said White.
White said he had no timetable for the 32-year-old champion’s
return.
“It could be forever,” said White. “We won’t know for the next couple months, Obviously, I’m hoping that’s not the case, as I’m sure all of you are, but we’ll see what happens.”
The 6-foot-3, 280-pound fighter had been hospitalized for 11 days last November in North Dakota, where he underwent tests and “minor surgery” before being released to his home in Alexandria, Minn.
Greg Nelson, Lesnar’s primary trainer, told MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday that Lesnar was “on the mend” and hadn’t begun training again, though the fighter was anxious to.
“He believes he’s going to come back and he’s confident and positive and he’s in a much better place than he was when he was in the hospital,” said White on Thursday.
The loss, temporary or otherwise, of the company’s biggest pay-per-view star can’t be a pleasant thought for the world’s top MMA promotion. While they wait for the news on Lesnar, the UFC must also figure out what they are going to do with the top of their rapidly improving heavyweight division.
White said it is still to early to decide if an interim title is warranted at this point.
“We still gotta wait here a little bit and see what’s going to happen to him -- maybe he can come back, maybe he can’t, I don’t know -- we’ve got to see what happens to him first. I’m going to wait and see if he has to have this major surgery first before I make any big decisions,” said White.
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