The string of top-level fighters needing to drop out of fights continues today. Bleacher Report learned on a UFC conference call that Brock Lesnar has officially pulled out of his scheduled UFC 131 bout against Junior dos Santos. He will be replaced by fellow top heavyweight contender, Shane Carwin.
After spending nearly a year outside of the Octagon, battling nearly to death with a disease known as diverticulitis, Lesnar returned to defend his UFC heavyweight championship against Shane Carwin before eventually dropping the belt to Cain Velasquez later in the year.
Unfortunately, the disease has been acting up again and has significantly impacted his training regimen, causing him to drop out of the fight.
“I want to thank the UFC, Mr. [Dana] White and I want to apologize to Junior dos Santos and to Spike TV. This is an unfortunate situation for me,” Lesnar started. “Diverticulitis is something that doesn’t go away. It’s something that’s in your colon for the rest of your life.”
“I was forced to make a decision to go back down to the doctor this week to determine how far along this thing is.”
Thankfully, the situation is not as dire as it was the first time he was dealing with it, but it is becoming increasingly likely that Lesnar will eventually need surgery.
“It’s not as serious as last time, it just didn’t allow me to train the way I needed to train for a number one contender’s bout,” Lesnar conceded. “I’m forced with the decision to either have surgery or deal with this for the rest of my life. A lot of things go through your mind as an athlete. This is something that has been wearing on me for about a month now.”
But true to what he has always said, Lesnar understands that fighting is only a small part of his life. His loved ones are what matters most.
“It wouldn’t be fair to myself, my family, or the people I give a performance in front of. I wouldn’t have been 100 percent on June 11. I’m not there now. My health is number one, my family is number one.”
Still, the former champion insists this is not the end.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not retiring. This is not the end of my career. I love this sport. This is not the end of Brock Lesnar…Far from it.”
He has not decided whether or not he will get surgery immediately or will attempt to fight it without going under the knife, as he did before. Brock, his family and doctors, are still awaiting test results to determine what the next course of action is.
“My diet has carried me this far. It was a miracle that I didn’t have to have the surgery. Everything was back to normal. But diverticulitis never disappears. It’s whether they become inflamed and infected. I felt the symptoms about three weeks ago and I got on the antibiotics and they didn’t do it, so I started a second course of antibiotics.”
Though he is not in the hospital at the moment, the battle with the disease has taken a serious physical toll on Lesnar as he prepared for his bout with Dos Santos.
“There were days when I had to miss a day just to rest for the next day, but when I got in, I just didn’t have the energy to be at the top of my game.”
“When you have a 12-week training camp and it’s condensed to six, it’s not a wise athletic decision. I just didn’t feel like I could do it.”
Dana White made sure to note that he understands, respects and agrees that Lesnar’s health is more important than fighting for the UFC. But with the company’s top draw being knocked out of the UFC 131 event, the replacement has already been named in the form of former interim champion, Shane Carwin.
Carwin was originally scheduled to fight UFC newcomer, Jon Olav Einemo on the same show, but will now get a shot to prove himself once again against one of the top fighters in the world.
No replacement for Carwin has been named yet, but Dana White did indicate that the company is working on it.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com