Brock Lesnar‘s illness and one-year layoff are the dominant storylines heading into his UFC 116 heavyweight title matchup, but his opponent Shane Carwin‘s life story is equally as compelling.
A former collegiate football All-American and Division II wrestling national champion, Carwin seemed on the way to a career in the NFL before an injury derailed those plans. Years later, he picked up MMA and proved a natural. To date, he’s won all 12 of his fights, never going past the first round. Still, he remains story B for the media and the underdog by the oddsmakers. Yet despite his soft-spoken nature and willingness to cede the pre-fight spotlight to his opponent, with a single sentence, Carwin summed up his ability to capture it back.
“If I touch anyone with my hands,” he said, “I can knock them out.”