Yet, if I looked hard enough, I probably could find a photo of him with a spliff in his mouth though. Nonetheless, the timeless image of legendary actor Clint Eastwood playing the character ‘Blondie’ in the movie will do just fine to illustrate the many sides there are to this complex, but talented young fighter and individual.

Considering I just wrote about Nick Diaz last week and chastised him for his, more or less, spoiled brat behavior after his decision loss to Carlos Condit, I don’t want people to think I’m fighter bashing or even player hating. Truth is, I am a huge fan of Nick Diaz, always have been, when it comes to his fighting style. He not only brings it, but he’s extremely skilled; sadly though, that’s where it ends.

The news this week that Diaz was the one fighter to fail his post fight drug test after last weekend’s event solidifies my reasoning. I’m sure Nick Diaz supporters will argue that at least it wasn’t for performance enhancing drugs, thus he garnered no known advantage in his fight against Condit. They might even argue that even while under the influence of marijuana metabolites in his system, Diaz was able to put forth the effort he did during the fight. All that is fine and dandy, but it doesn’t make it right.

The bottom line is Nick Diaz was busted for a drug of abuse; one that is not only banned by the UFC, but is illegal to use in this country. That is unless you are from the State of California where the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is allowed. Now Diaz is from California and although not official, may say that the use of marijuana helps him in some emotional way, which he has not said. However, when it comes to fighting in sanctioned mixed martial arts, it is considered a banned substance.

The good about Nick Diaz is he is an extremely talented fighter who is very popular amongst MMA fans. The fact that he shoots straight from the hip, no pun intended, when revealing his thoughts is considered noble; people appreciate the honest candor of a professional athlete who doesn’t sugarcoat everything with cliches and textbook responses. On top of that, his fighting style is appealing to those who enjoy action, skilled at the highest level, in the cage.

The bad is that he enjoys getting blazed. Like I said, I am not hating on Diaz or anyone else that partakes in smoking marijuana, but let’s call it for what it is; Nick Diaz likes puffing trees and as a professional fighter, that is a problem. This is the second time he’s failed a test in Vegas for weed, the first time being five years ago after his epic fight at Pride 33 against then number one in the world Takanori Gomi. He won that fight, but ultimately his failed test cost him the victory as it was ruled a no contest.

Finally, the ugly is that Nick Diaz is the type of athlete that walks to the beat of his own drum and does not do well with what he considers restraints on his personal viewpoints. Just like Ricky Williams in the NFL, he’d rather throw it all away rather than conform to the rules of the game. That’s why I said last week; he’s the kid in the playground that will take his ball home if he doesn’t get his way. If his attitude doesn’t make a sudden change, he’ll soon find that society and not MMA will be his biggest problem.

Sure he’s in his prime and at the top of his game now; thus, he has some leverage in terms of his power within the game. However, in a few years when he is no longer in demand as an athlete and he has to make it in the world outside of the cage, where the rules are a lot more stringent, how will Nick Diaz react? On one hand, you have a person who is disciplined enough to train himself for triathlons, yet on the other hand doesn’t have the discipline to say no to drugs. In a nutshell, that is the good, the bad and the ugly of Nick Diaz.

That of course could and would never apply to Guerino ‘Goody’ Petronelli and Angelo ‘Angie’ Mirena Dundee, two legendary former boxing trainers who, up until this week, were the last of a dying breed. That is because in an ironic twist of fate, both Petronelli and Dundee died this week, both of natural causes, within four days of each other. Petronelli was 88, while Dundee was 90.

Besides their claim to fame in boxing, both Goody and Angie shared some other similarities as well. Both were of Italian descent born in boxing rich tough Eastern cities, Brockton, Massachusetts and Philadelphia, PA respectively, and both served their country proudly during World War II. Of course there was one more thing they shared, multiple world champions.

Goody Petronelli, like his childhood friend Rocky Marciano, began boxing while he was in the Navy. Petronelli had a successful amateur career, while Marciano went on to win the heavyweight championship of the world. The difference in success levels had nothing to with Petronelli’s lack of ability, but rather his reality. He viewed boxing as a long shot in terms of his future as a fighter and actually tried to convince Marciano of the same when after returning home from the war Rocky told him, “I’m thinking about turning pro.”

Upon hearing this, Petronelli actually tried to talk Marciano out of it, according to his nephew Tony. “You know Rocky, it’s a real tough game,” Petronelli is quoted as saying; just imagine if Marciano would have listened. Nonetheless, Petronelli would enter the game, but not as a fighter, rather as a trainer. Along with his brother Pat, who handled the managerial duties, they opened a gym in Brockton in 1969.

Not too long after a young amateur transplant from Newark, NJ named Marvin Hagler came through the doors and the rest as they say is history. Besides Hagler, Petronelli trained former world champion Steve Collins, USBA champ Robbie Sims, along with numerous other regional champions who contended for world titles. As for heavyweights, he is best known for training both Peter McNeely and Kevin McBride, who both had the distinction of fighting Mike Tyson; the latter ending Tyson’s career in 2006.

Meanwhile, Dundee made his bones in the boxing game in a different fashion. After the war, he had a couple of older brothers Chris and Joe who were working as a promoter and fighter respectively in boxing. Angie decided to join Chris as his assistant while the three of them adopted the name Dundee, so their parents wouldn’t know about their work in boxing.

Dundee enjoyed working in the corner so much he traveled to gyms in New York and Miami to work under fabled trainers such as Ray Arcel and Chickie Ferrera, cutting his teeth as a bucket boy. However, the grunt work proved its worth when Dundee started to use the knowledge he had garnered and coupled it with his uncanny ability to motivate. It was that trait that caught the eye of a young Olympic champion named Cassius Clay.

Clay had met Dundee in a chance meeting in 1959, the year before he won the gold medal, and once he turned pro, he already knew who he wanted as his professional trainer. Together the two would enjoy great success as Clay, who would later change his name to Muhammad Ali, went on to become “The Greatest.” That same type of accolade would follow Dundee as the mastermind behind the fighter.

Dundee was not just known for his motivation and master strategy, but for his ability to think outside the box (no pun intended). It was Dundee who decided to make an existing hole in Ali’s glove even bigger in his fight against Henry Cooper, when he saw his fighter needed an extra blow to regain himself. He did the same for Ali, when he was ready to give up in his third fight against Joe Frazier, the famed ‘Thrilla in Manila’, when Ali told him he couldn’t continue because of exhaustion.

He would go on to use these same techniques with his other legendary champion Sugar Ray Leonard. Calling Leonard a young Ali, coming out of the ’76 Olympics, Dundee was in Leonard’s corner against some of the greatest fighters in history,which included such opponents as Wilfred Benitez, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran. It was against Hearns during their first fight in 1981 that Dundee would utter the now famous words to Leonard before the 13th round, “You’re blowing it kid, you’re blowing it.” Leonard would go on to score a 14 round TKO.

In 1987 Dundee worked with Leonard again, this time in the “Superfight” against none other than Marvelous Marvin Hagler. That meant that he was in the opposite corner of the aforementioned Goody Petronelli. The fight was about as close as you can get with Leonard pulling out a split decision that is still argued among fans to this day.

Granted the fight lived up to the hype because of the two champions involved; but it also had a lot to do with their trainers. Both are legends in this sport that made their way during the glory years of boxing, when it was on top of the sports world. More importantly, they were genuinely regarded by all that knew them as gentlemen. They truly were the last of a dying a breed.

The first one, back in November, just showed a championship fight that lasted all of 64 seconds. Thus, it was important for many reasons that the six fighters in action Saturday night provide just that, action. Unfortunately, what looked good on paper, didn’t translate well to the cage as the result was three lackluster decisions.

The main event was between light-heavyweights (205 lbs.) ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans (17-1-1, 6 KO’s 2 subs) and Phil ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Davis (9-1, 2 KO’s 3 subs), a pair of former Big 10 wrestlers from Michigan State and Penn State respectively; sadly, it may have turned out better if it were an amateur wrestling match. That’s because Evans, a former UFC champion, outclassed the inexperienced Davis over five rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Clearly quicker and better with his hands and in MMA, his wrestling, Evans dominated, but never really hurt Davis seriously; though he did bloody and beat him up pretty good. Although Davis has a very promising future, it was evident that his lack of experience, especially against the caliber of opponents Evans has faced, was the big difference. Nonetheless, he hung tough with the former champ and survived a couple of moments throughout when he was caught under Evans in a vulnerable crucifix position on the ground.

Meanwhile, Evans, who was clearly looking to make a statement in front of current light-heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, who was in attendance as an analyst in the Fox booth with Curt Menefee and Randy Couture, is just happy to finally get his wish; a showdown against his former teammate in three months @ UFC 146 in Atlanta. Though Jones currently looks invincible, Evans looks like he may be his toughest test yet. Too bad that wasn’t the fight featured on Fox; the UFC could have used it on this night.

There were two questions leading into the co-main event between middleweight (185 lbs.) contenders Chael Sonnen (28-11-1, 7 KO’s 4 subs) and Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping (22-4, 14 KO’s 4 subs). The first was who would impose their will in the fight, the grappler Sonnen or the striker Bisping? The other was would the fight live up to the hype the two biggest trash talkers in the UFC made it out to be?

The answer to the first question was the grappler, as Sonnen won a unanimous decision by being able to use his wrestling, albeit barely. As for question number two, unfortunately for the fans and for the UFC’s second event on Fox, the answer was no. Sonnen hardly looked as dominant as he did in his last fight against Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, while putting up a good battle, hardly did much else to sway the judges.

While UFC President Dana White, ultimately got what he wanted as Sonnen will now get a rematch against middleweight champion Anderson Silva, most likely in Silva’s home country of Brazil, he has to wonder if this performance will hurt the promotion of that fight at all. Sonnen on the other hand, in typical Sonnen fashion, did his part with a WWEesque type post fight interview. In the octagon he refused to answer Joe Rogan’s question about the fight, instead asking Rogan, “How do you feel standing next to the greatness that is Chael Sonnen.” Really?

In a surprising start of the card on Fox, middleweight grappling experts Demian Maia (15-4, 2 KO’s 8 subs), a world champion Jiu-Jitsu player, and Chris Weidman (8-0, 2 KO’s 3 subs), a former All-American wrestler, fought a three round affair standing. For some reason the two grapplers decided to duke it out as boxers and the result, as you can imagine, was a steady, but lethargic split decision win by the young upstart Weidman.

Stepping in on 11 days notice after Maia’s original opponent Bisping was moved up to face Sonnen, Weidman barely hung on as he was totally gassed in the last round. To his credit though, he secured the only takedowns of the fight, which weren’t many, and did attempt a submission or two. Maia meanwhile, who won his first five fights in the UFC via submission, is only (4-4) in his last eight fights, with the four wins coming by decision; maybe someone needs to remind him of what initially made him a threat and contender in the division, jiu-jitsu not boxing.

Finally, while styles make fights, the UFC brass, and Fox for that matter, cannot be happy with the way things turned out in prime time. I personally told and texted all the casual fans and friends I know to tune in to the free fights on Fox, in hopes that they would see what I’m always clamoring about; the fastest growing and most exciting sport in the world. I don’t think I won over many new fans, if any, on this night.

MMAjunkie.com recently learned of the figures through an industry source.

The new benchmark is more than the previous two episodes’ viewership combined and also marks a 281 percent increase in viewership from the same timeslot in the previous year, according to FUEL TV officials.

The Jan. 3 series debut of “UFC Tonight” scored 39,000 viewers, and the following week’s broadcast scored 20,000 viewers.

Though the UFC’s numbers on FUEL TV mark a steep decline from the figures the company was used to garnering on Spike TV, UFC and FUEL TV officials caution that the entire cable channel is still a work in progress. After all, FUEL TV averaged just 15,000 viewers in 2011. However, with the UFC’s recent move from Spike TV to FUEL TV, the channel has become the hub for UFC programming.

In 2011, FUEL TV was cable’s lowest-rated channel. However, thanks largely to the UFC’s new partnership with the channel, which airs live fights and an array of other UFC programming, FUEL TV has expanded from a meager 30 million U.S. homes to approximately 36 million in just a matter of months. (By comparison, the UFC’s former longtime home, Spike TV, is available in approximately 100 million.)

Whille the growth process has proved problematic for some hardcore UFC fans who don’t have FUEL TV in their programming lineup, the cable channel has seen an immediate impact in its viewership. According to FUEL TV officials, the channel has seen a 56 percent gain in total viewers over the first two weeks of 2011 and a 75 percent increase in viewers in the coveted male 18-49 demographic.

Former WEC broadcaster Todd Harris and UFC fighter Kenny Florian host “UFC Tonight,” and journalists Jay Glazer and Ariel Helwani are contributors. “UFC Tonight” airs each Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). If the ratings prove strong, officials have suggested new episodes could air more regularly.

For more on “UFC Tonight,” including show highlights, go to fuel.tv/ufctonight.

I say former because just like another highly respected good guy before him in Chris Lytle, Rivera (pictured @ left) announced before his fight Friday night that win or lose, it would be his last. Well that wasn’t the only thing he had in common with Lytle, because just like Lytle, Rivera went out a winner. A second round TKO finish over tough Eric Schafer, who used to fight @ 205 lbs., means that ‘El Conquistador’ ends an 11+ years career @ (20-9, 14 KO’s, 2 subs).

A very respectable record considering Rivera’s resume of opponents, including 15 fights in the UFC. While his record inside the octagon was a mere (8-7), his presence was always felt among his fellow competitors and among the fans where ‘El Conquistador’ has always been a fan favorite. Another trait he has in common with Lytle who also had a simple .500 record inside the UFC, but was easily one of the most popular fighters among the fans and his peers.

Rivera made his UFC debut after only seven fights way back in 2003 @ UFC 44 against former title contender David ‘The Crow’ Loiseau. In typical ‘Conquistador’ fashion, he went three toe to toe rounds before winning a unanimous decision. In his next fight inside the octagon he got caught in a triangle choke submission against tough Lee Murray; and so would go the career of the popular Puerto Rican from Milford, Massachusetts.

Always a crowd pleaser with his stand and bang style, the ground game was always his downfall. Nonetheless, that didn’t keep him from competing against the best in the world. Take a look at just some of the names he’s fought in his career, Travis Lutter, Rich Franklin, Anderson Silva, Dennis Hallman and Michael Bisping to name a few, and it’s easy to see he’s had a better than average career.

He starred and competed in Season Four of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, the comeback season, and reached his career high point nearly a year ago when he was in the co-main event @ UFC 127 against Bisping. While he never could get over the hump and get a win in that big fight when he needed it most, he would always come back and get it in his next fight. On top of that, he always maintained a positive attitude and keen sense of humor, which he displayed in his many YouTube videos that made him a favorite with the fans.

Rivera’s overcome a lot in his life including heading down the wrong path in his younger years and losing his oldest daughter at only 17 years of age to an untimely illness three years ago. In between he became a military veteran and a perennial contender in the biggest Mixed Martial Arts organization in the world. Now one month before his 40th birthday, he’s retired on his own terms.

Opening a brand new Gym in his hometown in a matter of weeks and looking to spend more time with his family, Rivera is at peace with his career and his decision to walk away. If you look at my caller bio over @ Gozejitsu.com, I list five fighters as my personal favorites. In that list are the names of Chris Lytle and Jorge Rivera; both are now retired and having gone out on top, it’s safe to say that nice guys don’t always finish last. Thanks Jorge for the memories and for always being a true professional.

The former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ season 1 competitor has had lingering back problems over the last couple of years, but it was after he got back into training following his loss to UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo last October that aggravated the injury to an extreme point.

“First of all, I’ve had a back injury for a little bit and after the (Jose) Aldo fight I was getting back to training, I was doing some Olympic lifting, hurt my back, of course on the last rep, last set, and I knew it was bad,” Florian said during the Fuel TV UFC 142 post fight show.

The injury was severe enough that it’s actually scared Florian to the point of considering retirement from the sport he loves so dearly.

“It was a herniated disc in my back and it’s just been causing a lot of problems. Lower back, and it’s been everything from tingling and numbness in both my legs, so I’m hoping it’s going to heal up and I can get back to the fight game, but we’ll see what happens,” Florian stated.

Serious back injuries have occurred many times before in MMA and in the UFC in particular.

Florian’s housemate on the first season of the ‘Ultimate Fighter’, Nate Quarry, famously had back surgery a few years ago to repair a serious injury that almost cut his career short.

Quarry was able to recover after the surgery and get back in the cage again. The same can be said for former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz who went under the knife to repair a similar injury to the one that befell Quarry, and much like his counterpart, he too was back fighting after recovering from surgery.

Florian however wants no part of surgery. He is hopeful that his body will just heal up on his own, but if it comes down to surgery to keep fighting, he’ll hang up his gloves.

“I’m not going to do surgery,” Florian stated.

The prognosis is still not determined yet however for Florian’s future. For now he’ll continue to work as part of the UFC’s broadcast team while his back heals, and with time hopefully he’ll be able to return to work as fighter inside the Octagon.

Unfortunately for Johnson, it was not only his third strike, but it came before the biggest fight of his career where he was featured in a co-main event. Luckily for Johnson his opponent Vitor Belfort was willing to go through with the fight, albeit with a stipulation, or he would’ve never made it past Friday night; especially with UFC President Dana White fuming upon the news that Johnson would miss his weight badly.

How badly? Anthony Johnson (10-4, 7 KO’s) weighed in for a middleweight (185 lbs.) fight at 197 lbs. It’s one thing to miss making weight by two, even three pounds, but missing it by double digits is “totally unprofessional,” as Dana White said live on Fuel TV at the weigh-ins Friday. To his defense, if there is any, it was reported that Johnson was a mere one and a half pounds from hitting his mark when he was told by a doctor to rehydrate or risk serious health issues.

Johnson’s camp used the excuse that ‘Rumble’ began feeling ill three hours before weigh-ins and was instructed by a physician to put fluids in his system. Sorry, but that excuse isn’t going to fly and it didn’t with White. While anything is possible, the truth is Johnson’s past speaks for itself. On two prior occasions, while Johnson was competing as a welterweight (170 lbs.) he missed his weight before a fight.

I’m very nearly 5′ 11″ tall, and while I’m a lot older than Anthony Johnson, I can tell you I haven’t seen 170 lbs. since high school. In the photo above, which was taken in July 2009, I was weighing about 225 lbs. and you can see that ‘Rumble’ who is much larger than I am, was weighing at least that, if not more. Therefore, how he ever made the 170 pound welterweight limit is a miracle unto itself.

However, he did make it, on at least 11 occasions; so you would think this fight, his first at middleweight, giving him an additional 15 lbs. cushion to play with, should be no problem. Yet it was, which makes you wonder, this time was it Johnson’s fault or someone else? That is the question that was posed to me by MMAJunkie Radio host Gorgeous George Garcia when I told him the news that ‘Rumble’ had missed weight.

Garcia asked, “Does a missed weight target by so much fall on the fighter or his trainer?” In this case, the trainer is noted MMA instructor Mike Van Arsdale of the Blackzilian camp in Florida. Van Arsdale a former MMA fighter and UFC veteran, is also a former wrestler by trade, so he knows all there is to know about making weight. The same also goes for Johnson, who before becoming a professional fighter was an accomplished wrestler in the junior college ranks, winning a national championship.

Therefore, through his wrestling history and 13 professional fights prior, including two failed attempts, Johnson knew what his responsibility was and more importantly, how to meet it. For whatever reason, he didn’t; so when the question comes up as to who’s gonna take the weight for Anthony Johnson’s release from the UFC? The answer is quite simple, look in the mirror big boy because you have no one to blame but yourself.

Florian on fighting Jose Aldo: “Jose Aldo is very explosive. He’s fast and, of course, he’s known to have the best leg kicks in the game. Really what impressed me the most was how smart he fought against me. His MMA IQ in the cage is very impressive.”

Chad Mendes on fighting Aldo in Brazil: “I will fight the guy anywhere. This is a title fight. It’s something you don’t pass up. I feel like I am prepared and have set up a great game plan for this [fight]. I know his stand up is very explosive, very fast, but I feel like I have a lot of power on my hands and I am very fast also.”

On Vitor Belfort: “Vitor Belfort, in my opinion, is the most talented fighter in the UFC today. This is a guy with very fast hands. He’s been in the game a very long time. He’s a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he can wrestle, he can do it all.”

Florian on Edson Barboza: “A lot of people are very excited about Barboza. They believe he’ll be the next big star. He’s so technically sound, he’s a fighter that can go forwards, he can fight backwards, and he possesses some of the most devastating leg kicks in the game. A lot of people have been having trouble taking this guy down.”

On Terry Etim: “Etim has to be the taller fighter here, and that gives a lot of fighters problems, even if you’re a great striker. Etim needs to use his reach and he’s going to have to be very active on the ground.”

On Rousimar Palhares: “Palhares has been on a tear lately. He’s a guy who really possesses the most dangerous submission game in the UFC.”

Along those lines, the premise that a person is innocent until proven guilty is something that was established long ago; it has been the cornerstone of our judicial system. I’m not saying the system is infallible, but more often than not, it works. At the very least, it is fair.

On a rare weekend where the UFC did not have a live event scheduled and boxing was relatively light, the Strikeforce organization had center stage all too themselves. With a nice card that featured a championship bout and another fight that featured a former champion, all eyes should have been on Strikeforce this weekend; and they were, but for all the wrong reasons.

The news on Friday that Strikeforce Women’s featherweight (145 lbs.) champion Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos (pictured above) had been suspended due to a failed drug test superseded any outcomes of battles within the cage. You see, even though she’s a woman in a sport dominated by men, Santos is a rare commodity.

She’s not only the most dominant female fighter in the world, she is arguably Strikeforce’s number one attraction; specifically because of her dominance. Unfortunately though, she’s also just the latest fighter in the world of mixed martial arts to be found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs.

Santos failed her post fight test taken after her successful defense of her title on December 17, 2011 against Japanese fighter Hiroko Yamanaka. She has been suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for one year and fined $2,500. She has since issued an apology for her failed test, which was for stanozolol metabolites.

Yet, while she took responsibility for her actions, she claimed innocence by reason of negligence; she claims she didn’t know a dietary supplement she used to help cut weight during training contained a banned substance. Herein lays my issue with her apology.

I do not have any fame and fortune, yet I know what I am ingesting into my system on a daily basis. Thus, I would assume a professional athlete, who makes their living with their bodies earning thousands, if not millions of dollars, would take a little bit more responsibility in their judgment.

Every time a professional athlete, including MMA fighters, gets caught taking a banned substance they immediately turn to the defense, “I didn’t know.” Chael Sonnen, Sean Sherk, Royce Gracie etc., all said the same thing. Enough already with the excuses; it’s time for athletes to step up and accept full, not partial responsibility for their actions. From that standpoint, I have to give former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia a lot of credit.

Never the most talented fighter in the world and definitely not the most athletically gifted, when he got busted for performance enhancing drugs, he quickly and openly admitted he made a mistake because he knew what he was taking and did it for one reason; he wanted to try and improve his physique to look more like a fighter and a champion. If you’re not going to take full responsibility and own up to everything 100 percent for yourself, then at the very least do it for those that idolize and worship you.

Lesnar (5-3, 2 KO’s 2 subs) is only 34 years old, which puts him in his physical prime for this sport, and has only been a part of it for four and a half years, but his heart just isn’t in it. He tried hard to be a fighter and for his brief stint, due to his natural physical gifts, found success; but a fighter’s heart has to be just as natural and Lesnar just doesn’t have it.

During his career, I’ve often said that Lesnar was a bully in disguise and what I meant was he took advantage of those he could because of his size and skill. However, whenever he met someone that wasn’t imposed by him, he folded under the pressure. Bullies in my mind are always fearful deep down inside and when it came to fighting I felt Brock was no different.

Yet, he has to be given respect and acknowledged even if this is true. That’s because on eight different occasions he put in the work and found the heart to step into the cage and face his opponents; not everyone can do that. Not to mention how he handled the pressure that was put on him, sometimes brought upon by his own actions. He came into this sport a known commodity from his days as a professional and amateur wrestler; a lot was expected of him and win or lose he delivered.

In his short time he became the biggest pay-per-view draw for the UFC and in only his fourth pro fight, he won the UFC heavyweight title. There are many skilled fighters with heart bigger than a beach ball that never attain, let alone get even close, to those heights. Beyond that, outside of the cage he showed more courage than he ever did inside of it.

In the last two years, in the middle of his prime and during his reign at the top, he was stricken with a life threatening illness in diverticulitis. This disease is one that affects the intestinal tract and most times, as in Lesnar’s case, can only be treated through sensitive surgery. The first time he was diagnosed, there was doubt he would ever fight again. He could have easily walked away and had a legitimate reason why, yet he didn’t. He came back and fought and he did it twice.

Sure he found temporary success and then lost his last two fights, but in my eyes and in the eyes of many, Brock won. That’s because while he may never have displayed the heart of a fighter, he definitely displayed the heart of a champion. For a guy I truly believe doesn’t have it in him to be in the spotlight, he’s overcome all challenges and won at every level he’s competed at.

He rose to win a NCAA championship as an amateur wrestler and then won championships in both pro wrestling and MMA in the two biggest organizations in the world. On top of that, for all the bravado and ego he came into this sport with, on Friday night after he lost he went out humbly and professionally. Even in defeat, Brock stole the show and for that, he should be applauded. Right or wrong, Brock did it his way.