Following the announcement of Brock Lesnar‘s second battle with diverticulitis, which forced him out of his bout with Junior dos Santos at UFC 131, the general consensus was that his career was over.
But UFC president Dana White seems to be the only person firmly behind Lesnar. In fact, White said he expects to see the former UFC heavyweight champion fighting again before the end of this year.
“And I am still very optimistic that Brock is going to bounce back from this thing and be back sooner than everyone thinks, maybe by the first of the year,” White said during a pre-UFC 130 press conference.
Lesnar’s replacement, Shane Carwin, will step in and square off against dos Santos in the main event. White said the winner of the heavyweight bout will meet Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight title later this year.
Considering his long layoff, Lesnar will likely need a couple of wins before he is in contention for a heavyweight title shot. The last time Lesnar was stricken with the illness, he was out of action for nearly a year.
When he does return, it is logical that Lesnar will face one of these three competitors in order to earn a title shot. Another logical, but marketable bout for Lesnar is third matchup with his rival Frank Mir. It was reported that White suggested the idea of a rubber match between Lesnar and Mir.
However, if White’s optimism stands correctly, fans just might see Lesnar’s presence inside the Octagon later this year.
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