Brock Lesnar Undergoes Successful Surgery; Expected to Return in 2012

According to MMAJunkie.com, Brock Lesnar underwent successful surgery to repair his second bout with diverticulitis. It is expected for the former UFC heavyweight champion to make a return in early 2012. 

UFC president Dana White said that Lesnar had 12 inches of his colon removed during the surgery and will have to recover for the rest of the year. White said he expects Lesnar to make his return next year.

"He said he's a little sore, but the operation was a huge success," White said during the UFC 130 telecast.

White added that Lesnar visited the Mayo Clinic last Thursday to go over some options for his recovery. 

"He's going to make some decisions as to what he's going to do, but he's in a good place right now,"

Lesnar was originally scheduled to face Junior dos Santos in the main event at UFC 131 after their coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter, but was struck with the illness for a second time in his career. 

Lesnar first contracted diverticulitis in 2009 during a hunting trip in Canada.

Lesnar made some changes to his diet and overall lifestyle in order to prevent from contracting the illness again and returned to the UFC the following year. 

But after complaining about suffering from symptoms while preparing for his bout against dos Santos, Lesnar was diagnosed with the illness once again and was forced to withdraw from his bout.