KIDWCKED
07-03-2010, 09:53 PM
c/p from tsn by the a/p
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar showed his softer side Tuesday as he prepares to return to the cage after almost a year off due to a severe digestive disorder.
"It's a great day," the mixed martial arts star told a media conference call. "I'm done with training today. I'm going home to my family. My training camp is just about over with.
"It's just a good day to be alive. I'm excited. The fight is almost here and it's just a good day to be alive."
The 32-year-old Lesnar, who last fought July 11 at UFC 100, returns to action July 3 when he takes on unbeaten Shane Carwin at UFC 116 in Las Vegas.
The two were slated to meet last fall but the fight was put on ice when the six-foot-three 265-pound Lesnar was diagnosed with diverticulosis.
Lesnar (4-1) said Tuesday he was just happy to be back fighting again.
"This is what I love to do. Yes, I'm very humbled that I've been given a second chance and a new approach on the fight game. It's been really great."
Lesnar collapsed in November during a hunting trip to Canada, which later sparked a tirade against the Canadian health-care system.
Asked what he had learned from the experience, Lesnar recalled how he spent more than two weeks in hospital in Bismarck, N.D., and lost 42 pounds while he was being fed intravenously.
"To wake up every day, being on all them drugs and not be able to put any food in your mouth, yeah you definitely take a different approach on life," he said with a chuckle.
"You realize there's nothing more important in life than your family and you really find out who your friends are. I felt like I was on my death bed, I really did, because I was very sick. This illness, it kills a lot of people and it's one of these things I never knew I had.
"At the time I didn't even know if I wanted to fight again. Everything was in the air, because I had lost so much weight. I thought I was going to have to have major surgery and have part of my colon removed. That would have been a two-year process for me to even come back from.
"So I really feel like I'm a cat with nine lives. I think I've got about eight left."
His eating habits have changed, he said. Plus he's also had to step back from eating out because you never know what's in the food.
"Now we just stay at home and I'm able to control what I put in my mouth. I know what I can eat and what I can't eat. So it became really simple."
Lesnar said he won't have to cut weight this time because he currently weighs about 265 pounds, the heavyweight limit.
The former WWE star, who made headlines for flipping off the crowd and being crude after defeating Frank Mir last time out, was a happy camper Tuesday.
But he couldn't resist sarcasm when asked about Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.
"He's the greatest champion of all time," Lesnar said with a laugh. "Greatest champion ever. Of all time. In his own little world."
Asked if he could beat the Russian star, Lesnar replied: "Absolutely I can beat anybody."
And he insisted it's not all sweetness and light.
"I'm still the ornery SOB I've always been," he said. "Nothing changes at all for me."
And while he holds no ill feeling towards Carwin, Lesnar said he expects to beat him.
"I know what my credentials are. Shane knows what his are. I think mine outweigh his and I think my hand's going to get raised on July 3. And he probably feels the same thing. But that's the beauty of this fight game. We'll have to see what happens July 3."
Lesnar did give Carwin one edge.
"There's a lot of similarities, but he's a little better looking than I am. I'll give that to him and that's about it," he said with a chuckle.
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar showed his softer side Tuesday as he prepares to return to the cage after almost a year off due to a severe digestive disorder.
"It's a great day," the mixed martial arts star told a media conference call. "I'm done with training today. I'm going home to my family. My training camp is just about over with.
"It's just a good day to be alive. I'm excited. The fight is almost here and it's just a good day to be alive."
The 32-year-old Lesnar, who last fought July 11 at UFC 100, returns to action July 3 when he takes on unbeaten Shane Carwin at UFC 116 in Las Vegas.
The two were slated to meet last fall but the fight was put on ice when the six-foot-three 265-pound Lesnar was diagnosed with diverticulosis.
Lesnar (4-1) said Tuesday he was just happy to be back fighting again.
"This is what I love to do. Yes, I'm very humbled that I've been given a second chance and a new approach on the fight game. It's been really great."
Lesnar collapsed in November during a hunting trip to Canada, which later sparked a tirade against the Canadian health-care system.
Asked what he had learned from the experience, Lesnar recalled how he spent more than two weeks in hospital in Bismarck, N.D., and lost 42 pounds while he was being fed intravenously.
"To wake up every day, being on all them drugs and not be able to put any food in your mouth, yeah you definitely take a different approach on life," he said with a chuckle.
"You realize there's nothing more important in life than your family and you really find out who your friends are. I felt like I was on my death bed, I really did, because I was very sick. This illness, it kills a lot of people and it's one of these things I never knew I had.
"At the time I didn't even know if I wanted to fight again. Everything was in the air, because I had lost so much weight. I thought I was going to have to have major surgery and have part of my colon removed. That would have been a two-year process for me to even come back from.
"So I really feel like I'm a cat with nine lives. I think I've got about eight left."
His eating habits have changed, he said. Plus he's also had to step back from eating out because you never know what's in the food.
"Now we just stay at home and I'm able to control what I put in my mouth. I know what I can eat and what I can't eat. So it became really simple."
Lesnar said he won't have to cut weight this time because he currently weighs about 265 pounds, the heavyweight limit.
The former WWE star, who made headlines for flipping off the crowd and being crude after defeating Frank Mir last time out, was a happy camper Tuesday.
But he couldn't resist sarcasm when asked about Strikeforce heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.
"He's the greatest champion of all time," Lesnar said with a laugh. "Greatest champion ever. Of all time. In his own little world."
Asked if he could beat the Russian star, Lesnar replied: "Absolutely I can beat anybody."
And he insisted it's not all sweetness and light.
"I'm still the ornery SOB I've always been," he said. "Nothing changes at all for me."
And while he holds no ill feeling towards Carwin, Lesnar said he expects to beat him.
"I know what my credentials are. Shane knows what his are. I think mine outweigh his and I think my hand's going to get raised on July 3. And he probably feels the same thing. But that's the beauty of this fight game. We'll have to see what happens July 3."
Lesnar did give Carwin one edge.
"There's a lot of similarities, but he's a little better looking than I am. I'll give that to him and that's about it," he said with a chuckle.