Brock Lesnar became famous for his muscularity and massive size but those attributes seemed less apparent at the recent UFC 141 pre-fight press conference.
Lesnar’s sporty suit couldn’t mask the apparent fact that the once-enormous Lesnar looked much slimmer.
After all, Lesnar is coming off a second bout with diverticulitis. It’s possible that the disease sapped the bulk of Lesnar’s frame.
The former WWE star overcame his first infection with the intestinal disease without losing a significant amount of girth, but this second time dealing with it may have seriously hindered the Minnesota native’s efforts in the gym.
Even before the press conference, there was talk of Lesnar’s shrinking size.
In a commercial for the WWE‘s recent video game, his upper body was noticeably smaller than it had been in the past—although, to be fair, it was still larger than most regular people’s.
If this loss of muscle mass equates to a significant loss of strength, how will it affect Lesnar?
Badly. It may well cost him the fight.
Lesnar’s opponent, Alistair Overeem, is the most physically-imposing heavyweight in MMA today, and his size and strength have increased almost exponentially since the Dutchman fought at light heavyweight several years ago.
Overeem knows Lesnar will be looking for a takedown and will have his sprawl perfected in anticipation of Lesnar’s first big bull-rush at the start of the fight.
Without his trademark strength and size, Lesnar won’t be able to take Overeem down and will be in a world of hurt when the K-1 champion Overeem blasts him with an array of devastating strikes.
However, it’s possible that Lesnar has retained his strength and only lost his “beach muscles.” We’ll know more once we see Lesnar at the weigh-ins.
And, of course, all will be revealed Friday night, when we see Lesnar and Overeem finally go toe-to-toe in the Octagon.
Follow @MattSaccaro
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com