“I’m not going to shut up about this,” said Lesnar. “I’m an American. I’m guaranteed the right to express my opinion. And I’m stating it loud and clear, because I experienced something that I want to talk about. If I was a recovering drug addict, people would want to hear my story. Well, I survived something, and I went through -first hand- the problems in the health care system, and I want to talk about it.

I entered the hospital around 4am on a Saturday morning, and I spent two nights there. No one talks about that. Their CT machine was broken, and they were waiting for a replacement. They could not take a picture of my stomach. If they would have had the ability to take the picture, they would have seen I had holes inside me. If I stayed at that Canadian hospital, at best I would have been retired and would have to wear a colostomy bag. At worst, I could have died.”

With Lesnar now fully recovered, he is expected to defend his belt this upcoming summer against the winner of the Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin interim title figt, which takes place at UFC 111 on March 27.

Lesnar said he felt sick for weeks while preparing for his fight with Shane Carwin at UFC 106 in November, leading him to pull out of the bout. He went to the doctors to find out why he was feeling so ill, and was initally told he had a case of mononucleosis. However, Lesnar believed that wasn’t the reason he felt as sick as he did, so he visited with other doctors, and was diagnosed with diverticulosis.

He was then hospitalized for eleven days and lost fourty pounds. A few weeks after being released from the hospital, Lesnar went for another check-up, and found out he had a miraculous recovery, meaning that no surgery would be needed.

White said that Lesnar will make his return to the UFC this summer and take on the winner of the interim heavyweight title fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin, which is scheduled for UFC 111 in March. However, if either fighter is unable to compete come summertime, then Lesnar will fight the winner of the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 in February.

Those bouts are Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello and Spencer Fisher vs. Duane Ludwig.

Kongo (24-6-1) is coming off a disappointing first-round submission loss to Frank Mir at UFC 107 in December. The loss was his second in a row.

Similarily Buentello (25-11) last fought at UFC 107 and lost to Stefan Struve. Prior to the defeat, he had won back-to-back fights.

Fisher (24-5) and Ludwig (19-10) both suffered losses in their last bouts and will be looking to get back on the winning track.

UFC on Versus 1 is headlined by Brandon Vera and Jon Jones, and features a co-main event between Junior Dos Santos and Gabriel Gonzaga. The event marks the debut of the UFC on the Versus channel.

Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre will defend his belt against rising star Dan Hardy, and Frank Mir will take on Shane Carwin for the interim heavyweight title.

St. Pierre has not fought since suffering a groin injury during his unanimous decision win over Thiago Alves at UFC 100 in July. Now that the injury is healed up, he will be looking to successfully defend his belt for the fourth time since regaining it in April 2008.

“Dan Hardy is a very worthy contender and I’m preparing for a war,” said St. Pierre. “He is hungry for the title and that makes him very dangerous, but I’m just as hungry to keep the belt and I am going to train and fight like I am the challenger on March 27th.”

The UK challenger Hardy has turned heads since making his Octagon debut in October 2008. With four consecutive victories in the UFC, he has become the first British fighter to earn a shot at a UFC title.

“I think I am underestimated by the fans a little,” said Hardy. “But GSP is smart enough to realize that I could knock him out with either hand. He will come fully prepared and I expect to face the very best GSP in March – and I wouldn’t want it any other way. When I came into the UFC in October 2008, I didn’t expect to be the first Briton to fight for a UFC world title, but I am proud to make a little bit of history. But the real prize is becoming the first British UFC champion and that’s what is going to happen.”

Additional bouts for the event should be soon announced by the organization.

Frank Mir recently appeared on ESPN Radio 1100 and gave his thoughts on why he believes Brock Lesnar should be stripped of his UFC heavyweight belt if his expected return date is in late 2010.

He said:

“If he (Brock Lesnar) is going to be out for that long that we can set that (interim title) fight up, should he even hold on to the belt at all. The interim belt I think works if the champion is not able to defend his belt within a year-long period. You know he’s going to be out for eight, nine months, you make the interim belt, then he comes back after a year. But, as of right now, his last fight was in July. If he’s out a year from even today’s date, that’s a year and a half. At that point I don’t think you can hold the belt ransom. They gave me about a year when I got into my injury, so I’ve been on that side of the coin too, and I was more than happy to go ahead and relinquish the belt at that point, because you feel kind of selfish that you’re not able to really do anything with it.”

Mir is next scheduled to take on Shane Carwin at UFC 111 on March 27 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

An heavyweight match between Shane Carwin and Frank Mir will likely take place at UFC 111 on March 27, from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Carwin announced the news Wednesday on his official website. He said, “I expect to make my return to the UFC in March 2010. I will be fighting in Newark, New Jersey at UFC 111. I have not signed any contracts yet but I have told my manager to inform UFC Matchmaker that ‘I accept the offer.’”

Although nothing has been made official yet, it is possible that the fight will be for the interim heavyweight title, due to the current condition of division champ Brock Lesnar.

Frank Mir recently spoke with Fighters Only and was asked about his main goal before retiring from mixed martial arts competition.

He said:

“To end Brock Lesnar’s career. Really, it’s what I think about all the time. Brock Lesnar exploited a huge weakness in my game and no matter who I crush after this, I have to crush him to show I’ve improved that weakness. It’s nothing about how he talked to me in my last fight, I could care less about it. If I took it that personal there are other ways to handle situation like that outside of a cage, but honestly I just want to fix what was exploited. If you’re a true martial artist you don’t do it for money or titles, just to be the best human being possible, and if someone exploits a weakness, who better to see if you’ve fixed it than the guy who exploited it.”

UFC President Dana White recently spoke with the L.A. Times about the recent CBS-televised Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers event and gave his opinion on a Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko match-up.

He said:

“CBS would be out of their mind to put that rinky-dink [Strikeforce]… on the air again… and without that backing, [promoters] won’t have the money to pay [Emelianenko]. The guy just got his face smashed in by Brett Rogers. Do you know what Brock or [UFC heavyweights] Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez would do to Brett Rogers? It’s time to bring this guy [Fedor] in, to see Brock Lesnar smash his head.”