In UFC 41 last night, Brock Lesnar showed up, albeit ostensibly to offer his good-bye. In his match against Allister Overeem, Lesnar appeared to not be as sharp on his conditioning when entering the ring, as his body looked less defined than I'd seen it. Conditioning is all about heart, and by the end of the night, it was clear that Lesnar's heart was no longer in it.
Overeem controlled the octagon effectively through the first round, and was quite effective at his stand-up strategy. After dropping a knee into Lesnar's midsection, it was clear that the area was rife for attack, and a vicious leg to the guts buckled Lesner and ended the fight. Soon thereafter, Lesnar announced his retirement from the sport.
I'm a Lesnar fan - he's the reason why I got the fight in the first place. Unfortunately, his diverticulitis, an incredibly serious malady, has left him weakened and vulnerable. He probably never should have stepped into the ring. Certainly if one considers the advice of those in the know in the medical community, he absolutely should have hung it up well before the fight.
It is a real shame, as the disease prevented us from seeing what Lesnar could have done. Still a neophyte with only 8 pro MMA bouts, he never really got a chance to peak.
So as Brock departs, I wish him all the best, especially in the health department. However, I wish he just would have said good-bye, instead of enticing me to drop $56 for what turned out to be an expensive retirement announcement.