When UFC President Dana White failed to deliver his scheduled Brock Lesnar health update to the media this week, there was naturally a degree of concern. In speaking at the UFC 108 press conference, White made no effort to hide the reality that a bad assessment from the doctor this week could have meant major surgery for Lesnar and a lengthy, if not permanent, hiatus from active competition.
But while specifics on the UFC Heavyweight Champion’s status have not yet been revealed, there at least appears to be definitive confidence that Lesnar will fight again.
“He will fight again. I know that it’s just a matter of the public finding out when,” Lesnar’s wrestling trainer Marty Morgan told Sportsnet regarding the former pro wrestler’s status.
Morgan nonetheless urged people to respect Lesnar’s privacy on the matter.
Said Morgan, “A lot of times I think that in this day and age of Facebook and Twitter it almost bugs me that people always need to know what’s going on all the time. I understand people granted want to know how his health is but at this point right now we’ve kind of just kept quiet with what’s going on.”
Lesnar’s trainer Greg Nelson additionally confirmed that Lesnar “will fight again” in a statement to MMA Junkie.
Shortly prior to his scheduled UFC 106 bout with Shane Carwin, the UFC Heavyweight Champion withdrew due to an undisclosed medical issue. As the proposed January replacement date became unfeasible, news broke that Lesnar had, at the very least, been suffering from a severe case of diverticulitis.
With Lesnar still sidelined, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin will fight for heavyweight gold at UFC 111. If Lesnar can return within a relatively comfortable time frame, the Mir-Carwin match would crown an interim champion.
But in the event that Lesnar’s absence will be for the long-term, UFC would likely turn the Mir-Carwin fight into a contest for a vacated heavyweight title.