At UFC 116 on Saturday, Lesnar persevered through a devastating first round in his heavyweight title fight against Shane Carwin and came back to win the main event in Las Vegas.
In the first few minutes, Lesnar was pummeled into the ground.
Carwin was able to land 47 ground strikes, and the ref appeared to almost stop the fight several times. But Lesnar hung in there and did something no other opponent of Carwin was able to do; he made it to the second round.
Between rounds, Carwin’s body started to stiffen with cramps. In the second round, Lesnar found his rhythm and rallied and managed to trap Carwin in a triangle arm submission. The move forced an exhausted Shane Carwin to tap out, earning him his first defeat.
Lesnar had canceled two previous fights with Carwin due to a life-threatening intestinal infection.
Last November, he was hospitalized in Canada for almost two weeks with diverticulitis. Career-threatening surgery was considered, but turned out not to be necessary. After changing his eating habits, Lesnar was pronounced healthy in January — a recovery that doctors called "miraculous."
"It's just great to win," Lesnar told mmafighting.com after the win. "Honest to God, what I've been through since Nov. 6 to this point, it feels like it's been 10 years. It's been a grueling, grueling road. I can say this: I remember when I was lying there, [my trainer] Marty Morgan at my hospital bed from day one. To be here, it really is truly a miracle. To come back from all that and to be here and win, words cannot describe it. I feel like I'm in a dream."
With grit like that, Lesnar is a role model for those looking to stage their own comebacks. Perhaps Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan should take note.
Wait, what do these two starlets have to do with Lesnar?
The Hollywood celebs have suffered numerous personal pitfalls in the public eye, and for the most part, their careers have followed suit. Lohan was recently sentenced to 90 days in jail for failing to comply with the terms of her probation following a DUI arrest.
When asked what words of advice Lesnar had for the struggling ladies, his reply was simple: put on some panties.
In other news, Tyler Seguin explains the dual mentality of teammates in competition, Takeru Kobayashi criticizes prison food, and Lance Armstrong gets excited for his last Tour de France.
"Start wearin’ some underwear, damnit."
–Brock Lesnar’s advice for Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, on TMZ.com
"New York is a jewel built on the dream of greatness, and that same dream is driving every competitive eater."
—George Shea, chairman of Major League Eating, in the AP, on why hot-dog eating contests and New York go so well together
"We're all friends in here. But we're all enemies."
–Tyler Seguin on NESN.com, on competing for a spot on the Bruins next season
"They got the wrong blonde"
—Paris Hilton's lawyer in the Daily Mail, after Hilton had charges of possessing a joint at the Brazil vs. Holland World Cup quarter-final dropped against her. Her friend, former Playboy playmate of the month Jennifer Rovero, admitted possession.
"In jail, they gave me a [peanut butter and jelly] sandwich and milk.
I wish they had hot dogs in jail."
–Takeru Kobayashi complaining about his prison accommodations, after
being arrested for storming the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest stage
"It's a good thing that France came home. One more week and they would have eaten each other. It's best to avoid cannibalism."
–Former France international Eric Cantona in the Sydney Morning Herald, on France’s early exit from the World Cup
"I'm utterly pissfickled mad, its raining pig feet n toe nail clippings hard outside, this has to stop before firework time 🙁 "
—Chad Ochocinco via Twitter, on Miami’s inclimate Fourth of July weather
"I notice the better I've been able to get and the more respect I get from my peers and the people around you, the bigger bull's-eye that's on your back."
—Larry Fitzgerald said on ESPN.com about continuing to improve his game
"I'll take a hug. A hug's better."
–The Red Sox' Bill Hall, on NESN.com, to Daniel Nava during a batting practice, after Nava offered him his independent league ball paycheck if Hall smashed a ball into the center-field bleachers
"You're talking about streets that are hundreds of years old. They're bowed sometimes. And if it rains? Carnage. You've got to be the hammer. You can't be the nail. It's going to be crazy. I can't wait."
–Lance Armstrong on ESPN.com, on his last ever Tour de France
