After winning pretty much everything there was to win in WWE in almost record time Brock Lesnar left the company in April 2004. After coming incredibly close to launching a career in the NFL and briefly wrestling in Japan, The Beast found a new home in the octagon in 2008.
Although Lesnar was defeated on his UFC debut by Frank Mir in February 2008, by the end of the year he was Heavyweight Champion. Lesnar avenged his defeat to Mir in July 2009, but was soon struggling with a series of health problems. The star was diagnosed with mononucleosis, and subsequently diverticulitis, this caused a planned fight with Shane Carwin to be pushed back to July 2010. At the time it was noted that Lesnar had likely been suffering with the condition for more than a year.
Brock Lesnar Felt “Cheated” Of UFC Career
After defeating Carwin, Lesnar faced Cain Velasquez in November but was ultimately defeated. Another bout of diverticulitis then caused a planned bout with Junior Dos Santos to be scrapped, before Lesnar returned with a defeat to Alistair Overeem in December 2011.
Speaking to UFC in 2011 Lesnar stated that diverticulitis robbed him of his prime inside the octagon.
“It haunted me because at the top of my career I wasn’t at the top of my game. So I felt like I was cheated out of my career in the UFC. In my mind, I’m my heart, I never lost to a foe. I lost the diverticulitis, that was my opponent that beat me. People may have other thoughts and say other things about the way I perform. My performance was due to the illness.”
Brock Lesnar returned to WWE in April 2012 attacking John Cena. This set the tone for the next decade which has seen Lesnar cement his status as one of the most dominant performers in WWE history. Lesnar did return to the UFC in 2016 when he defeated Mark Hunt, however the fight was later declared a No Contest after The Beast tested positive for a banned substance.
H/t to Essentially Sports