rs with Heath Miller retired and Ladarius Green

Brock Lesnar could absorb the beatings he suffered inside the cage.Lesnar was built to fight -- to conquer all -- on a mat, in a ring or inside metal, and no man could cross over genres and collect championships with his ease. His rapid ascension from faux fighter for WWE to heavyweight champion under the UFC banner made the superhuman freak the pay-per-view box office king, one of the baddest men in sports and put him on a seemingly lengthy career path toward MMA immortality.But the determination and domination that allowed him to knock out Frank Mir and Randy Couture and choke out Shane Carwin couldnt help Lesnar defeat diverticulitis. The lower-intestinal ailment nearly killed him, and it forced him to retreat back to WWE in 2012.It haunted me for a long time, Lesnar.Turns out, Lesnar wasnt finished with UFC.Fire up the Brocktagon one more time.One year after he closed the door forever on a UFC return, Lesnar is set for the surprise comeback of the year, fighting Saturday for the first time in 4 1/2 years, against heavyweight Mark Hunt in the co-main event of UFC 200 in Las Vegas.I truly, 100 percent thought he was done and wed seen the last of him in professional fighting, UFC President Dana White told The Associated Press. The WWE, that deal was the right move. It was the right money. At that point in his life, I thought it was perfect. What he accomplished here was incredible but it was probably time to move on.Going out on an Alistair Overeem kick to the liver would have been one thing. But Lesnar, who turns 39 three days after UFC 200, could not accept that 12 inches of surgically removed colon would be his final parting blow in UFC.Lesnar won the NCAA heavyweight championship at Minnesota and wrestled WWE greats Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and The Rock in PPV main events in his early 20s. Hes always been a competitor, and that edge had him calling White late this spring asking for another fight.Before its too late, I want to get back in the cage and have some fun with it, Lesnar said. This is all about having fun. Im not looking past this fight.Lesnar was a man resigned to MMA retirement last March when he went on ESPN and announced he had signed a contract extension with WWE. He told the AP he turned down a UFC offer worth 10 times what he was making earlier in his MMA career.Im a 37-year-old man, and some days I feel like Im 80, just with all the things Ive experienced, all the things Ive done. I feel fortunate about it. Its like, what else can I do? Why go backward? he said last year.Lesnar needed approval from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to return to UFC. After a few phone calls of negotiations with White, a deal was struck that allowed Lesnar back in the octagon.WWE refused to make any officials available to the AP for comment. WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon told Business Insider last month the company is, not supporting the fight, necessarily but agreed to let Lesnar fight for UFC because he was a special attraction.We recognize the value of our performers participating in entertainment and sporting events outside of WWE, the company said in a statement.Win or lose Saturday, Lesnar is scheduled to have his next WWE match Aug. 21 at SummerSlam in New York, likely against Randy Orton.For UFC 200, Lesnar told White to put him in the cage against any fighter. Lesnar said there was early talk his return would wait for the inaugural UFC New York card in November, but White had a vacant spot on this weekends card when it pushed the McGregor-Nate Diaz bout to UFC 202.Lesnar (5-3) fights the 42-year-old knockout artist Hunt (12-10-1) on a card headlined by Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones. Hunt has nine fights since Lesnars last bout in December 2011 and knocked out Mir in March at UFC Fight Night in Australia.Is he better than I am at standup? Of course he is, Lesnar said. Is he a better wrestler than me? Hell no.Happy with his family in Saskatchewan and healthy for the first time in years, Lesnar is enjoying his training camp like never before. White said he has never seen Lesnar so excited and almost giddy as he has been the past month, and so even though Saturdays bout is absolutely a one-fight deal, theres no guarantee that its the last UFC sees of Lesnar.Nothing is ever final, White said. This is a one-and-done, but who knows? He could come back again. Wholesale Patriots Jerseys . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. New England Patriots Gear . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/ . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Patriots Jerseys China . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. New England Patriots Pro Shop . Bryzgalov stopped 25 shots on Saturday in the Oklahoma City Barons 4-1 victory over the Abbotsford Heat. The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers still dont have a sack, at least a sack of consequence, through two games.They also dont have a loss, a trade-off they can live with while their defensive front four searches for consistency. While Cincinnatis Andy Dalton threw for 366 yards and a touchdown without an interception in Pittsburghs 24-16 victory on Sunday, the overwhelming majority of Daltons 31 completions were dump offs to running backs and tight ends. Superstar wide receiver A.J. Green was kept under wraps.Green finished with just two receptions for 38 yards while getting shadowed by Pittsburghs Ross Cockrell.I felt like it was a pretty dominant performance, Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said. I felt like it was a pretty dominant performance by the group ... We were able to take (Green) out of the game.Pittsburgh disguised a lot of its coverages, but the primary responsibility for covering Green at the line of scrimmage fell to Cockrell, who spent most of last season as a backup after getting cut by Buffalo at the end of training camp. And yet there he was, marking one of the best players in the league and more than holding his own.We threw the bus at them, Cockrell said. We played zone, man, blitz. We threw it all at them to try to limit (Greens) touches because the more he touches the ball, the more chances he has to change the game. Thats all we wanted to do.Pittsburghs only sack came when Dalton was touched down by linebacker Arthur Moats while scrambling for no gain in the third quarter. The Steelers forced Dalton to make quick decisions, and he chose to play it safe rather than force something to Green.Were not getting the sacks we want, but Andy Dalton wasnt comfortable back there, Cockrell said.GETTING IT RIGHT? The Bengals (1-1) never led but twice appeared to be on the wrong side of a potentially game-changing call. Tight end C.J. Uzomah was ruled out of bounds after making a leaping grab in the back of the end zone in the third quarter; replays suggested Uzomah may have gotten his knee down. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis didnt challenge, saying he was told Uzomah was out.Cincinnati was driving with a chance to tie with less than two minutes to play when the ball squirted loose from rookie wide receiver Tyler Boyd after Boyd was hit by linebacker James Harrison.dddddddddddd The call stood upon review even though it seemed Boyds right knee was down before he lost control.I was told it was down even by officials on our sideline, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. They didnt see it that way overall, so thats all that matters.NOWHERE TO RUN: The Bengals ran for just 46 yards on 18 carries and didnt have a run over 10 yards. Through two games Cincinnati is averaging 2.78 yards per carry. The inability to get anything going on the ground forced the Bengals into a ton of third-and-longs Sunday, a main reason Cincinnati went 4 of 16 (25 percent) on third down. The Bengals failed to reach the end zone on two trips inside Pittsburghs 20.It made a difference in the football game, Lewis said. We didnt have enough positives on first down, and we didnt convert the third downs.HOLDING TIGHT: So much for concerns about a drop off at tight end for the Steelers with Heath Miller retired and Ladarius Green nursing a knee injury. Second-year players Jesse James and Xavier Grimble both caught touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger, and veteran David Johnson helped open holes for running back DeAngelo Williams.These are the guys who play for us now, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. Theyre capable and we have a great deal of confidence in them, and they delivered today.HEADING HOME: Cincinnati missed a chance to open with two road victories and will try to regroup next week against Super Bowl champion Denver. The Bengals fell 20-17 in overtime at Denver last December with backup quarterback AJ McCarron filling in for Dalton. Cincinnati moved the ball pretty well against the NFLs best defense even with Dalton out, controlling the clock for more than 37 minutes.PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM: The Steelers travel to Philadelphia next Sunday. The teams played in a preseason game last month, though most of Pittsburghs regulars sat out. The Steelers havent started a season 3-0 since 2010, when they won the AFC title on the way to a Super Bowl loss to Green Bay.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '