UFC

Former UFC Champ Brock Lesnar: "There's days I think I can get back into the Octagon... but I'm on another chapter"

Aug 15, 2013 - 12:50:21 PM Former UFC Champ Brock Lesnar: "There's days I think I can get back into the Octagon... but I'm on another chapter"

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is currently enjoying a second run in professional wrestling with the WWE, but he commented on his time in MMA this week in a new interview with the LA Times. "You've always got that part in your mind," Lesnar said when asked if he felt he left MMA a little early. "I do miss it, but I've got to keep myself in check. What I went through the last few years was quite traumatic, not being able to fight like I wanted. I got back on the horse way too soon. Coulda, shoulda, woulda."That chapter in my life has come to closure, and I'm comfortable with it."That last few years included multiple bouts with a debilitating intestinal disease known as diverticulitis. It severely weakened the behemoth fighter just a couple of months after his star hit its apex at UFC 100, and he never really made a full recovery.Lesnar returned against Shane Carwin the next summer and won with a second round submission after surviving a harrowing first round, then quickly returned that October against Cain Velasquez. He made too quick a turnaround against too talented a young fighter, and lost his Heavyweight Title. The diverticulitis would return and keep him out of action another year, and he his final MMA fight would come against Alistair Overeem as he had his guts kicked in at UFC 141."I know I trained to the highest capability I could at the time," Lesnar says. "I've never really sat and pondered about what I could've done differently or how things could've been, but I wasn't the same guy. Now I feel great; there's days I think I can get back into the Octagon and be the same human being I was before. But I'm on another chapter."Lesnar thinks the disease hit him at the worst time professionally, but opened his eyes to the fact that it was time to walk away. He finds that to be a "blessing in disguise," and his time with the UFC, building up his star even further, allowed him to return to a lighter, more manageable schedule in the WWE."I'm at a different stage in my life where... I think I've earned all that," Lesnar said. "That was the only way I could make this happen. They [WWE] played ball and hopefully it's a win-win for both of us. I really do enjoy putting on a show.""I left originally because I was a caged animal 300 days a year on the road and they knew that. That was the bottom line - I don't want to be that person."There's no question that Lesnar was never the same fighter post-diverticulitis as he was in his bouts with Heath Herring, Randy Couture, and the second fight with Frank Mir. Does that mean he'd have defeated Velasquez or Overeem? No, not necessarily. He might have put up more of a fight against Velasquez had he not made such a quick turnaround from the Carwin fight, but the diverticulitis really had him unsure of himself. That seemed to be the biggest thing. He wasn't confident in his strikes down the stretch, and that really showed against Overeem, as he left himself open to those body kicks that really did the most damage. Still, it's unfortunate we never got to see him healthy enough to really follow up on that UFC 100 win over Frank Mir. The Carwin fight was epic at the time, but it ended up showing the writing on the wall, so to speak. The diverticulitis took that version of Brock Lesnar away, and that was just unfortunate.[Brock Lesnar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com](Attention MMATorch app users: Make sure to upgrade to the latest edition of the MMATorch app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device!)-Follow Us on Twitter: CLICK HERE -Like Us on Facebook: CLICK HERE -Listen to our Weekly Podcast: CLICK HERE -Subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes: CLICK HERE -Get our Free iPhone App: CLICK HERE -Get our Free Amazon Kindle App: CLICK HERE -Get our Free Android App: CLICK HERE