Miraculous Comeback & Storybook Finish For Brock Lesnar

Because of his villainous demeanor in front of the media, Brock Lesnar has definitely ticked off many fans who don’t care for his winning inside the Octagon.  There were fans that were so distraught over Lesnar winning that they still haven’t taken the time to understand the bigger picture that UFC 116 and the fight with Shane Carwin brought to us as fans.

With that, many fans were cheated out of witnessing one of the most dramatic returns to action in the history of combat fighting.

Lesnar is the type of personality that you’re forced to either like or dislike.  His brashness and cockiness suck you in that way.  And if you dislike him, the last thing you wanted to see was a victory over the low-key and generally mild-mannered Shane Carwin.

While there’s no short list of fans and friends who celebrated Lesnar’s return to action maybe even more than they celebrated his win, we should all take a step back to understand the emotions of some of his closest friends in the videos below and what this victory meant for them.  As well, we can see how it looks to fall hard and pull yourself back up, to continue your pursuits and aspirations.

The media wasn’t given a ton of information about Lesnar’s prognosis and treatment while he lay on his “death bed” at the Mayo Clinic in late 2009 and early 2010.   We heard tidbits of information, but none of us believed it was serious or life-threatening.  We heard from UFC president Dana White about Lesnar’s condition, but somehow it wasn’t sinking in as to how serious Brock’s illnesses had become.

In late 2009, after experiencing terrible abdomen and trunk area pain,    Lesnar was diagnosed with both mononucleosis and diverticulitis.   The latter warranted surgery, and was apparently an undiagnosed issue for him through all of 2009, as the doctors noted the extent of damage to his intestinal area.  If diverticulitis is not diagnosed early enough, it’s surely a physically painful decline to the depths of inoperability and fatality.

Broken bones heal.  Torn ligaments get replaced.  Other big injuries typically return to some form in due time.   And with many of these injuries, none are life-threatening.  And that isn’t said to take away from any athlete who has recovered from a major injury and continued with their sport.

In 1991, multi-sport prodigy “Bo” Jackson, seriously injured his hip while playing for the NFL’s Los Angeles Raiders.  Jackson was an ultra-talented and popular athlete, and a former collegiate Heisman Trophy winner (1985).  The hip injury required surgery, but afterwards the hip area soon worsened. This downturn led to hip replacement surgery which immediately ended the running back’s football career.  However, this all-round athlete was determined enough to make an unprecedented return to baseball.  Upon his return, in 1993 for the Chicago White Sox, his first swing in his first at-bat was a home run.   Jackson completed 2 productive baseball seasons after his surgeries.

What Brock accomplished might not stack up to what Bo Jackson had to endure during rehabilitation, but the heroics of coming back into competitive action are indeed comparable.  These are two separate emotional comeback stories, but the drive that certain athletes show us can transcend sport and infiltrate our minds as an example of positive sacrifice and the power of will.

Lesnar reportedly lost 40 to 50 pounds while laying in the hospital during his stay.  And in talking with many casual mma fans, they were totally unaware of these illnesses and the seriousness of them, as were many in general.

And I think this is why we see these guys in the videos below holding back their emotions as they recount the happenings of the Lesnar/Carwin fight.    They obviously knew more than any of us regarding the extent of Lesnar’s illnesses.

The guys in the videos are some of the professional wrestlers whom Lesnar befriended during his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).  These guys indeed have a true fraternity.

In the video, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Jim Ross (former WWE announcer), Bill Goldberg, and Brock’s “manager” with the WWE, Paul Heyman.   You can see that even the he-man Goldberg chokes up while talking about his buddy Brock Lesnar.

Backstage in his post-fight interview, Lesnar is congratulated by former pro wrestler “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson.  Lesnar has to hold back the tears because this victory meant being able to rise above extreme and life-threatening adversity, both in life and in the ring.