UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was initially slated to headline the fight card and defend his crown against the undefeated Shane Carwin. However, Lesnar surprisingly pulled out from the bout just as the banter between he and his challenger began to brew to a palatable state.

Carwin made his disdain for Lesnar clear following the champion’s now infamous post fight victory celebration after besting Frank Mir at UFC 100. “He may be a champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a champion . . .,” proclaimed Carwin.

Lesnar fired back, taking aim at the challenger’s record, “I would be embarrassed to fight some of those guys he beat. His only good fight was Gabriel Gonzaga. Shane’s really 1-0.”

The war of words was quickly squelched after news broke that Lesnar was too ill to train. The illness was initially diagnosed as mononucleosis, but has since been identified as a bacterial infection in Lesnar’s intestinal track.

Upon learning of the severity of Lesnar’s ailment, White flew to Bismarck, North Dakota to be at his champion’s bedside.

“The family was worried big time, they were freaking out,” the UFC president shared with Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports. “Brock was in big pain, he was hurting.”

Despite the negative press that White often generates for himself, his loyalty to his prized fighters cannot be question. As evidence of White’s degree of devotion, one only has to look back to the road rage incident with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson last summer in which White immediately flew to the aid of his troubled light heavyweight.

Since White’s arrival, Lesnar has been released from the hospital and awaits further testing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

“We don’t know if he’ll ever fight again. He had a hole in his intestine," White explained. "The (intestinal fluid) was leaking into his stomach. That’s what was causing him so much pain. That and he had abscesses.”

With Lesnar sidelined, White turned to "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz as his main attraction for UFC 106. Ortiz, just returning to the Octagon following a prolonged public dispute with White, was initially slated to battle Mark Colemen. However, Coleman fell victim to an injury so White tapped fan favorite Forrest Griffin to take his place. Griffin, looking to rebound from a humiliating defeat at the hands of middleweight titleholder Anderson "The Spider" Silva, has a chance to avenge a controversial split decision loss to Ortiz in 2006.