Diverticulitis once again sidelines Brock Lesnar and forces him out of UFC 131.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, has been forced to step away from his UFC 131 number one contender bout vs. Junior dos Santos. Replacing the former champ will be Shane Carwin, who steps in on thirty days notice, albeit, he was preparing for a fight on the same evening vs Norwegian Jon Olav Einemo.
UFC President Dana White made the announcement earlier today, during a conference call with the media.
Lesnar, who has been featured as a coach during this season's Ultimate Fighter has been stricken with a recurrence of diverticulitis, a condition that causes swelling of diverticulum (pouches) in the walls of the intestines. He was forced to make a decision this week, as to whether or not he would be able to face dos Santos on June 11th, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Symptoms began appearing during filming of The Ultimate Fighter and throughout his training camp, often preventing him from recovering properly, although he had been taking anti-biotics throughout. Disheartened, he contacted White, who consoled him and made it clear that Lesnar's health was far more important than his career. The Minnesota native expressed his gratitude towards White during the conference call, calling him "first class", while also extending an apology to Junior dos Santos.
The former NCAA wrestling standout recently spent 14 hours at the Mayo Clinic, speaking with doctors while undergoing various tests, including CT scans. He now faces a daunting decision - does he undergo surgery to correct the issue, or continue taking medication that will hopefully cure the illness.
While I was never diagnosed with diverticulitis, in August of 2005, I had a diverticulum removed on the right side of my abdomen. I spent seven days in hospital after emergency surgery, and recall being back to normal within 30 days. But one of the differences here is that Lesnar is an elite athlete, I am far from it. His illness sounds far worse than what I experienced, and the ramifications may be worse. At stake, is not only his career, but his overall well being.
While many of us wish Brock a speedy recovery and a quick return to action, business must go on.
The UFC 131 main event was set to determine who would face current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez. With Lesnar out and Carwin in, would the ladder still be awarded a title shot, should he defeat dos Santos? Or would the UFC only grant that to the Brazilian knockout artist?
After the conference call, I contacted White, and asked him if the winner from the main event of the UFC's second event in Vancouver would get the title shot, and his response, was "Yes".
Here's a look at the (rumoured) full card for UFC 131: dos Santos vs Carwin, going down June 11th, at the Rogers Arena, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Main card (pay per view)
Heavyweight bout: Shane Carwin vs. Junior Dos Santos
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Donald Cerrone
Middleweight bout: Demian Maia vs. Mark Muñoz
Featherweight bout: Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
Preliminary card
Lightweight bout: Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards
Middleweight bout: Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman
Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young
Middleweight bout: Nick Ring vs. James Head
Heavyweight bout: Joey Beltran vs. Dave Herman
Featherweight bout: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins
Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
