Brock Lesnar overcame a ton of adversity to realize his UFC world-champion dream.
Famously, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ came from a professional wrestling background. Brock Lensar made his name in the WWE before deciding to switch sports and try his hand at MMA in 2007.
The 47-year-old, who was 29 at the time, picked up a 69-second TKO win in his debut.
It was enough to get him signed to the UFC, where he eventually became a titleholder after overcoming his late start and a very serious medical condition.
Brock Lesnar became UFC champion despite scary illness
In February 2008, Brock Lesnar suffered a submission defeat in his UFC debut against Frank Mir.
The American bounced back by sending Heath Herring tumbling across the Octagon during his sophomore appearance in MMA’s premier promotion, which ended in a unanimous decision victory.
Next time out, he dropped MMA legend Randy Couture to take the UFC heavyweight title.
Lesnar avenged his defeat to Frank Mir at UFC 100 in July 2009. At this point, he appeared to be a man in his physical prime, but his second title defense against Shane Carwin was postponed as Lesnar contended with a debilitating illness.
It was soon revealed that Lesnar had pulled out of the bout due to the infection, which inflames the walls of the intestines.
The fan-favorite heavyweight competed with the illness for a year before seeking medical treatment.
Later detection could have led to more serious health risks and even death. Following his emergency surgery for diverticulitis, doctors diagnosed him with mononucleosis after discovering feces were leaking out of Lesnar’s colon and into the rest of his body.
By all accounts, the operation was a success as Lesnar returned to the ring and beat Shane Carwin in July 2010.
Cain Velasquez took his belt a few months later. It was only after that fight that Lesnar discovered the diverticulitis had returned. In May 2011, he went under the knife again and ended up getting a foot of his colon removed.
“I have a high threshold for pain, higher than most guys, and I couldn’t deal with it,” Lesnar wrote in his book ‘Death Clutch’.
“It felt like I had taken a shotgun blast to the stomach, and then someone poured in some salt and Tabasco and stirred it all up with a nasty pitchfork.”
Brock Lesnar’s MMA career is over
Lesnar returned for a fight with Alistair Oveerm that effectively ended his short career in MMA.
‘The Demotion Man’ sent him back to pro wrestling with a devastating body kick KO at UFC 141.
Lesnar returned to the Octagon five years later and beat Mark Hunt by unanimous decision in July 2016.
However, his victory was overturned to a no-contest when it was revealed he failed a drug test ahead of UFC 200.
Lesnar hasn’t fought since, but that hasn’t stopped fans dreaming about a potential comeback bout.
Rumors about his return became so widespread that he felt compelled to address them in 2022.
“That door is closed,” Lesnar told the New York Post.
“You know what, Dana White, the Fertitta brothers were exceptional to me.
“I’m too old. That’s a young man’s sport, and that door is closed.”