YES Network.com

Attention MMA fans, especially those living in the New York Metropolitan area: UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is resuming training following a frightening bout with diverticulitis that nearly cost him his career, and had him and those around him worried about his life. Lesnar, sitting alongside UFC president Dana White, first made the announcement this morning on SportsCenter, and later provided more details in an afternoon conference call.

"I'm getting ready for anybody and everybody," said Lesnar, who could compete as early as late May. "I know the (fighters in the) heavyweight division are definitely back on their toes again because Brock Lesnar is back."

Why the special shout out to New Yorkers? UFC 111 is March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., where Frank Mir and Shane Carwin will compete for the UFC's interim heavyweight title. Barring injury to either fighter and/or logistical issues, the winner of that bout will receive a shot at Lesnar's title. Carwin is a 6-2, 260-pound mountain undefeated in 11 MMA fights (4-0 in the UFC). Mir is a former heavyweight champion who defeated Lesnar in the latter's UFC debut and held the interim crown before Lesnar extracted revenge by destroying Mir via a second-round TKO at UFC 100 last July.

The hype for the Newark show, to be amplified beginning March 10 with Spike TV's three-part "UFC Primetime" special centering around the main event of Georges St. Pierre's welterweight title defense against British striker Dan Hardy, comes at a time when New York Gov. David Paterson unveiled a state budget proposal on Tuesday that included a bill to lift a 13-year-old ban on MMA in the Empire State. If the Assembly passes the bill by April 1, that will pave the way for the UFC, MMA's top organization, to hold a show at the iconic Madison Square Garden by late this year or early 2011.

MMA is a growing sport. More and more athletes - Lesnar is a former NCAA amateur wrestling champion and one-time Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker makes his MMA debut at Strikeforce: Miami January 30 - are breaking into the game; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth is a co-promoter of the Illinois-based Capital City Cage Wars organization.

Seeing ESPN conduct a live interview with Lesnar is another step in the right direction. Those who follow the UFC closely know that whether it's Mir, Carwin, Cain Velasquez (a two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State) or MMA legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Lesnar will contend with a legit No. 1 contender. In the effort to bring MMA into the mainstream, Lesnar is paving a new path.

"I'll just sit back, I'll sharpen my skills, and I'll be prepared for either one of those guys," Lesnar said. "If it's Nogueira, if it's Velasquez, I know one thing: all them guys are [expletive] their pants right now."