Will Brock Lesnar ever return to the UFC? Dana White says “it’s definitely a possibility,” and Lesnar’s jiu-jitsu coach Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros agrees.
Medeiros, a multiple time jiu-jitsu world champion, started working with Brock Lesnar months after his loss to Frank Mir at UFC 82 in 2008. He continued with his camp until Lesnar announced his retirement in 2011. Since then, they haven’t talked about a possible return to the Octagon, but Medeiros says it’s possible.
“The possibility exists,” “Comprido” told MMAFighting.com. “If he decides that that’s what he wants to do, he will do it. That’s how it happened when he decided to fight MMA in the first place. He wanted to test himself, he wanted to do it.”
Lesnar’s return to MMA started as a rumor in late 2013, but the fact that UFC president Dana White never shut it down made it even stronger. The former UFC heavyweight champion quit fighting with a 5-3 professional record after battling diverticulitis, and has been feeling great since having surgery in 2011, according to “Comprido”.
“I think that Brock’s biggest issue was psychological,” he said. “He had a terrible disease and was devastated. He almost died, so you stop and think about it and what you want for your life.
“If he’s feeling better and motivated to fight again, he would be a big fight for anyone in the UFC. I know how he evolved as a fighter, and I’m sure he would still be at the highest level (if he wasn’t sick). We can’t say what he would have done or not.”
“Comprido” regrets that they accepted to fight Alistair Overeem “too soon” at UFC 141, and that maybe his career wouldn’t necessarily end if they waited a little longer to return to the Octagon after the surgery.
“We found out when we were training to fight (Shane) Carwin,” he said. “He trained two days, and then couldn’t do anything for a whole day. He trained three days, and then needed two days to recover. We were worried about it. One day, I got there to teach him and he said he couldn’t fight, that it doesn’t made sense for him to get here if he wasn’t 100 percent.
“He went to the doctor to find out what he had, and one day he had a crisis, and they found out he had diverticulitis. He didn’t have surgery because it was too complicated, he would need to cut 12 inches of his colon. They tried to avoid it, but had to do it after the Velasquez fight.
“It was phenomenal that he has surgery and fought again. But, in my opinion, he should have waited a little longer before fighting Overeem. He should have been more patient, get mentally and physically stronger. He had a terrible disease.”
According to “Comprido”, Lesnar continues to train regularly in his own gym, but his possible return to the UFC won’t be official until he says so.
“He started having a normal life right after the surgery. If Dana and Brock get into a deal, MMA fans will have a good time watching him fight again,” he said. “I haven’t trained him since (he retired), but he still has his gym and continues to train. Let’s see what he decides to do. There are a lot of rumors out there, but it’s only official if it comes from Brock or Dana.”