With heavyweight kingpin Brock Lesnar on the shelf for the forseeable future, the UFC is likely moving towards an interim heavyweight title future, but who exactly that future involves is anyone's guess.
FanHouse spoke to several sources in the last 48 hours, and it seems that the organization is no closer to having any type of clarity in the title picture as they continue to deal with illnesses, injuries and other issues that have suddenly crept into scheduling.
According to two sources close to the situation, the UFC's preference is an interim title bout between Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez to be held at UFC 110 on Feb. 21 in Sydney, Australia. But the UFC will have to wade through several difficulties in putting together such a matchup, which seems increasingly less likely to happen.
The matchmaking drama began shortly after Brock Lesnar pulled out of UFC 106. The fight was quickly rebooked for UFC 108, but on Nov. 4, Lesnar told the UFC he was still sick with a mysterious ailment and wasn't healthy enough to get in a full camp. (His illness was recently divulged to be an intestinal infection that required surgery; his recovery time is unknown.)
Upon receiving the news that the UFC 108 matchup was off, Carwin took the opportunity to see a knee specialist for an injury that had been hampering him. Following an MRI, he was diagnosed with an MCL strain and told not to wrestle for three weeks while rehabbing the knee.
About one week after Carwin started rehab, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira withdrew from his Jan. 2 UFC 108 matchup with Velasquez due to a severe staph infection. Hoping to salvage the UFC 108 event, the organization asked Carwin to step in to replace Nogueira, but he was forced to turn down the fight due to the knee injury and the inability to train properly.
According to sources, both Velasquez and Carwin were open to a date at UFC 109, but the promotion had already earmarked a middleweight title fight between Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva as a headliner for the night.
Eventually, the UFC proposed a UFC 110 date. Carwin, however, is unavailable to fight at UFC 110, as he and his wife are expecting a baby on Feb. 11, just 10 days before the event. Because the event is being held in Australia, fighters have been asked to leave on the 11th, and Carwin is reportedly intent on being with his wife for the birth of his daughter, making the date a no-go.
Adding to the difficulty, the UFC is targeting an April event in Mexico, and hopes to showcase Velasquez -- who is of Mexican descent -- as one of the main attractions. A matchup with Carwin so close to April would put that Mexico date at risk and put the UFC in a position of possibly hosting an event without a fighter who has done much to make inroads in the Mexican market. Velasquez has done media tours in the country and has become one of the most popular UFC fighters there.
With Lesnar and Nogueira sidelined indefinitely, Carwin and Velasquez appear to be the favorites to vie for an interim belt, but the UFC brass has its work cut out in navigating roadblocks and charting its future course.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Carwin and Velasquez are nobodies. Neither has fought an opponent worth a sh!t.
Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo, & Ben Rothwell are nobodies! Do some research noob. You are the nobody sir.
Yea I'd call everyone you just listed nobodies as well. Gonzaga was a joke against Grandpa Couture. Hes also gotten his a$$ kicked twice by Werdum. Kongo? Ha, maybe you need to check that dudes record and look at the scrubs hes lost to. Ben Rothwell...that doesn't even warrant a response. Sounds like you need to do the research because you sound like an idiot naming off a bunch of mid level fighters at best that will never smell a HW title.
dude for sure. a first grader with a reading handicap could read between the lines on this one. frank mir is already a name. so they crown cain or carwin and instantly add another name to a ppv draw. it's easier than counting your fingers. hey ufc nuthuggers, get a clue.
frank mir for sure should get a shot. and big nog too, barring his illnesses.
a tournament: Cain vs. Nog and Shane vs. Dos Santos. The winner becomes the real champ with Lesnar becoming the #1 defense if he ever fights again.
my sentiments exactly. have a tourney of at least 8 of the best heavyweight fighters.
They need to put that fight on UFC 109 to make up for the next couple of cards there gonna put out.
Nogueira is the only big name heavyweight in the UFC that's been at a top level for a long time. Carwin an this Valasquez are unproven fighters. Fedor would destroy all of them. He's already man handled Nog twice. Nog will soon be UFC Champ then what will the Fedor haters say.
The next few months are going to be awful. No way in hell I'm paying $45 to watch anything they got planned to charge us for. Forrest/Titty 2 is NOT going to get me excited about sh-t.
What they need to do is get Henderson resigned ASAP and put him in a main or co-main vs. Vitor or Marquardt.
All I'm saying is they better put together some amazing fight cards for free or get a group of quality fights
Fedor didnt manhandle Nog. Nog actually took him the distamce both times. Gonzaga is a great fighter. So he lost to Werdum twice, Werdum is also a top ten heavyweight. Randy was the champ when he beat Gonzaga and Carwin was rocked before dropping Gonzaga. Frank Mir must be considered for an interim title fight.
No offense but did you watch those fights? Fedor beat him like a rented mule. They have actually fought three times with one fight being rules a no contest due to a cut. You also have to remember this was when Noguiera was seen as being virtually unbeatable and Fedor wasn't the P4P king he is now.
i'd like to see gonzaga up there too. his chances against randy would have been much better had randy not accidently driven his head thru gonzaga's nose on the slam, breaking it. that dude had to fight thru a serious broken nose on an accidental headbutt, and no one ever even mentions it. i think he's a solid hw with some tough fights on his record.
Nog got his a$$ beat down by Fedor. Great it went the distance. Doesnt mean he didnt get whooped. Gonzaga is a great fighter? Based on what? Getting beat by an undersized 45 yearl grandpa? Couture being champ only makes the HW division in the UFC laughable at best.
nogueira was completely dominated by fedor three times. if i remember right fedor stopped nogueira in the first fight.
phats, you need to understand what you're watching, fedor dominated nogueira on the ground at a time nog was considered the best hw in the world.
The only logical choice is Dos Santos vs Velasquez or Mir vs Velasquez if he beats Kongo in December.