TORONTO - Brock Lesnar has pulled out of his UFC 131 fight in Vancouver to deal with diverticulitis again.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was hospitalized by the digestive disorder in November 2009 but recovered and returned to mixed martial arts.
The 33-year-old fighter says his condition is not as serious as it was before. And his hope is to be able to keep fighting.
"But let me tell you, my health and my family are more important than stepping in the Octagon for I don't care how much money," he told a conference call Thursday.
"One thing I have found out through all of this is that if you don't have your health and your family, you don't have diddly-squat."
Lesnar (5-2) said his choice is to undergo surgery to remove part of his colon or deal with the disorder the rest of his life.
"There's a solution to every problem," the six-foot-three 265-pounder said. "I've just got to find the right solution to fix this problem. I love this sport and I love what I do.
"This isn't the end of Brock Lesnar. This is a speed bump in the road and trust me I've incurred a lot of speed bumps throughout my career."
Still, Lesnar said he told his wife about a week ago: "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. We've got to find a solution to this."
In 2009, Lesnar fell ill on a hunting trip in Manitoba and eventually spent 11 days in hospital and lost 42 pounds.
In January 2010, he announced a "miracle" recovery, saying his U.S. doctors -- who wanted to operate to remove part of his colon -- were "dumbfounded" at his success in beating diverticulitis.
"I dodged a bullet," he said Thursday.
Shane Carwin will replace Lesnar in the UFC 131 main event against Brazilian Junior Dos Santos at the Rogers Arena. The winner will get the next shot at heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.
Lesnar, who lost his title to Velasquez last October at UFC 121, said he was angry and frustrated at having to step aside.
"But my health and my family are more important, so let's keep things in perspective," he said.
Lesnar, who has more follow-up doctor appointments, said he needs to learn more about the surgery before making his decision.
"It's got to be better than what I've been dealing with for the last two years," he said. "I'm looking for the light at the end of the tunnel here.
Lesnar is a relative novice at the sport, but won the UFC title in November 2008 in only his fourth pro fight. The former NCAA wrestling champion and pro wrestling star remains one of MMA's biggest draws.
Carwin, who lost to Lesnar in his comeback fight last July at UFC 116, was originally scheduled to face Jon Olav Einemo on the UFC 131 card.
"Junior is a serious fight and not the type of fight that you would normally take on a 30 day notice but I have a dream to chase and I do not have a lot of time to chase it," Carwin wrote on his website. "This is an opportunity to put myself in contention for the title.
"I hope Brock is able to recover," he added. "I look forward to facing him again one day."
Diverticulitis develops from diverticulosis, which involves the formation of pouches or diverticula on the outside of the colon. Diverticulitis results if the diverticula becomes inflamed.
"The diverticula, they never disappear. It's whether or not they become inflamed and infected," Lesnar explained. "And that's the problem. That's where I'm at."
He said he had been able to maintain his condition "to a point where it's tolerable." He went through two training camps (for Carwin and Velasquez) without symptoms although he said he did not feel the same fighter.
He said he was probably only at 85 to 90 per cent for the Carwin comeback fight. "And the Velasquez fight was just pushing myself to another limit."
But he said he felt symptoms for the last three months, which including filming "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show with Dos Santos.
He was put on two rounds of antibiotics during his training camp, but they did not help and he was unable to keep up his demanding workout regimen.
A CT scan showed problems in the stomach. And his body was using its resources to fight the infection "rather than rebuildiing what I tore down in the gym."
"There were days where I'd have to miss a workout just to get more rest so I could go in the next day," he said. "But when I went in the day, I just didn't have enough energy to finish the workout or to be in the top of the game."
As such his training camp had been truncated and he wasn't ready to fight in Vancouver.
"Instead of putting my health and my career on the line, I've got to nip this in the bud," he said.
The disease is rare among people his age, he said, with his doctors used to seeing men aged 50 and over.
"They have seen occasional 30-year-old males with this problem but they're not Ultimate fighters," he added. "They're businessmen or I don't know what they do. They don't have to push their bodies to extreme limits and they can manage it."
Lesnar has not been able to do that, having been in training essentially ever since his recovery.
He went to the Mayo Clinic on Wednesday for a battery of tests. He was told he has no perforations in his stomach and there was no need for emergency surgery.
Back in 2009, doctors put him on antibiotics and pain medication, while suggesting surgery was likely the final option.
Lesnar was fed intravenously and lost more than 40 pounds. He underwent a small procedure, having a six-inch needle inserted into his stomach to drain three pockets and withdraw 14 cubic centimetres of fluid.
But he escaped surgery and changed his diet as a result.
He concluded after the first bout that a "total protein" diet with not enough fibre contributed to his health problems.
"Basically I was for years surviving on meat and potatoes. When the greens came by, I just kept passing them,' he said at the time.
He revamped his diet, prayed a lot and used some "natural healing medicine." He said Thursday he had stuck to the new diet, crediting it for allowing him to put up with the health problems for as long as he has.
