The year 2010 didn't get off to such a hot start for the UFC's heavyweight division, with news breaking on Thursday morning that champion Brock Lesnar has suffered yet another health setback.
Through an update on Lesnar's official Facebook page, the champs people said, "Brock has had more problems (we can't say what they are) and he could be out all of this year if things don't get better. Brock wants to thank all of his fans for their support and for the nice messages so thanks guys."
This has to be viewed has fairly serious news, since UFC President Dana White told the media in the wake of UFC 108 that he hoped to get a definitive answer about Lesnar's health this week.
"I think Brock's going to the doctor this week, and we'll know how this thing is going to go – whether it's over," White told MMA Junkie just after the new year. "It could be career-ending for him."
White also elaborated a bit on why the MMA media can't always trust the information that is coming out of Lesnar's camp.
"You can't listen to him," White said. "You've got to listen to me. He's never going to tell you what's going on. You know how he is; he doesn't want anybody to know. You guys talked to him, apparently, and he tells you something different. I keep telling him, 'Brock, I have to be honest about it. I'm not going to lie to everybody about it.' But there's only so much that I can tell you (the media)."
To anyone who is not a medical doctor or not inside Lesnar's inner circle, it's hard to know exactly what to believe. The former WWE wrestler's semi-misanthropic tendencies have a way of leaving us in the dark. It's not widely known, for instance, exactly what about his mysterious intestinal infection could be career-ending or why his condition seems so uncertain from day to day.
What is known for sure is, in the absence of its largest pay-per-view draw, the UFC is scrambling to get the 265-pound division in order. Shane Carwin will reportedly fight Frank Mir at UFC 111 in March to decide an interim champion. At least one of these guys is just as confused about the situation as the rest of us.
Carwin has been bounced through a number of possible opponents during the last few months – he was supposed to fight Lesnar for the title at UFC 107 – and his manager told me this week that the MMA media typically knows the identity of Carwin's next opponent before he does.
Mir, who beat Lesnar in his UFC debut but then lost – and lost ugly – to the behemoth wrestler at UFC 100, is coming off an easy win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 last month.
Also in the fuzzy title picture are Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez, who will face off at UFC 100 in February. That fight could just as easily be for the interim strap and will at least pony-up a No. 1 contender for the temporary champ to face later this summer, if Lesnar is really out for the year or forever.
Among these guys, Mir and Nogueira are likely the biggest draws – Mir because of his association with Lesnar and Nogueira as the former heavyweight champion of Pride Fighting Championship. But that doesn't mean either are a lock to win their upcoming fights, so we'll likely have to wait until at least March to find out exactly what is going on with the heavyweight division.
The loss of Lesnar – whether it be temporary or permanent – can't be underestimated. He headlined just one show in 2009, but it was the epic UFC 100, which grossed $50.4 million. About half of that sum likely ended up in the UFC's pocket and you have to believe the company was psyched about finally having a bruising heavyweight champion who possessed superstar quality.
Even Lesnar's fiercest detractors must now wish the big guy speedy recovery. The future of the division looks awfully bleak, or at least uncertain, without him.
Chad Dundas is the Lead MMA Editor for The Sporting News and writes a weekly column for CraveOnline. He lives in Missoula, MT.
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