Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin UFC 106
Now that Fedor Emelianenko has signed with Strikeforce, UFC President and UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva had to come up with a credible opponent for UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar. Say hello to Shane Carwin. Carwin has amassed an 11-0 record fighting professionally including three wins in the UFC; one of those wins came via a vicious first round KO of Gabriel Gonzaga.
The UFC 106 fight is major disappointment for UFC fight fans that were begging and pleading with Dana White to make the Emelianenko-Lesnar match happen. To his credit, Dana White opened the vault and offered Fedor almost everything he wanted except a co-promotional deal that would see Vadim Finkelchtein’s M-1 Global share equal billing with the UFC in any Fedor fight. After working so hard to build UFC into a billion dollar business Dana White was not about to sign a deal with the Russian Mob.
The only consolation for fight fans is that their will be some genuine heat in a Shane Carwin-Brock Lesnar fight. Carwin has been one of Lesnar’s most vocal critics; even taking a shot at Brock Lesnar’s pro-wrestling background. “We have no scripts in this sport, no pre-determined earning amount and no pre-determined outcomes. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it matters how you win or lose,” Carwin wrote on his blog soon after Brock Lesnar flipped off fans and badmouth UFC sponsors in his UFC 100 post fight interview. I think Carwin should ask Frank Mir and Keith Herring how well that worked out.
Carwin is one of the few UFC Heavyweights who will be close to Lesnar when it is time to weigh in; both fighters compete at the 265lbs weight limit. And his wrestling pedigree is while not as impressive as Brock Lesnar’s, it is still impressive, winning NCAA II Heavyweight championship in 1999.
Carwin was scheduled to fight up and coming heavyweight Cain Velasquez but with his biggest pay-per-view draw sitting on the sidelines Dana was forced to act and give Lesnar a fight. Cain Velasquez will fight the winner.
Expect the line on this fight will be heavily tilted in Brock Lesnar’s favor and rightfully so, while he has had fewer fights than Carwin, he is the champion, he has fought better fighters and the public, while hating him in the ring, will love him at the betting window.
Lesnar is a retarded, cocky a$$ fighter. He needs a good pounding. All he has is his size and nothing else. Man, wanted to see Emelianenko put Lesnar in his place but guess it’ll have to wait. Carwin, don’t let us down!