Doctors to re-evaluate sick Lesnar

The Ultimate Fighting Championship expects to learn the fate of heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar within the week.

Lesnar is battling intestinal diverticulitis and has not competed since July.

UFC president Dana White said the former professional wrestler faces a pivotal week in his recovery and should learn more about the possibility of his return to competition.

"This is the week Brock Lesnar is going back to the doctor, getting fully checked out by one of the best doctors and hospitals in the world," White said. "If the doctors say things are going well and things are going in the right direction, then maybe we're a few months away from him coming back. If it's not, and not going in the right direction, he'll either be done and have to retire or he'll be out for a couple of years."

The status of the heavyweight division remains in limbo because of Lesnar's condition.

Shane Carwin is the No. 1 contender, but little can be done until Lesnar's status is more clear.

Carwin has been booked to fight former champion Frank Mir at UFC 111 in the meantime, but White said he will wait to hear Lesnar's status before determining what that match will mean in terms of the division.

"Hopefully, we get good news," he said, adding that he is more worried about Lesnar's health than his status as a fighter. "The thing I'm concerned about most with Brock Lesnar is that he's OK. I'm not looking at Brock Lesnar and saying, 'Oh, Brock, now he's gone and we're gonna lose all these pay per views. What I'm thinking about is I hope Brock's going to be OK. If he has to have this major surgery, you're talking about changing the quality of this guy's life forever."

• ST. PIERRE TALKS OLYMPICS -- If he decides to try out for the Canadian wrestling team, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre said he would take a leave of absence from the sport that made him a star.

"I'm a good wrestler, but if I wanted to do it, I would have to focus on wrestling and dedicate myself 100 percent for a period of time," he said Saturday. "I would not retire now, but if I decided to do it, I would have to dedicate myself 100 percent maybe for a year and a half or so."

St. Pierre, who took up wrestling only after becoming a professional mixed martial artist, said he is not quite at the Olympic level yet.

He is scheduled to defend his welterweight title against Dan Hardy on March 27 in Newark, N.J.

• FUTURE JOB FOR LIDDELL? -- White continues to lament Chuck Liddell's decision to return to the Octagon.

He wishes the 40-year-old Liddell would retire but knows there is little he can do to keep him from fighting.

"He's made a lot of money, and I'll pay him more money to not fight," White said. "He can come in and be the director of fun or something. I'll give him a job that he doesn't have to fight. I love him. I respect him. I think he helped us build this business. He's been an incredibly loyal guy to me, an incredible friend to me, and he doesn't have to fight anymore."

Liddell will coach the next season of "The Ultimate Fighter" against Tito Ortiz.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.