Retired former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin came within inches of unifying the heavyweight titles when he faced Brock Lesnar back in July 2010, and he’d be more than willing to put the gloves back on for a part two.
In an interview with Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports, the 39-year-old stated he would agree to one last hurrah in the cage if it was against Lesnar again—even though he admits the scenario is pretty unlikely.
I’m all in [for a Lesnar rematch]. All the pain would be worth that. … I basically almost died in that fight. In the second round, anybody could have tripped me and landed on me. … I should have let him up and kept punching him in the head. Lesson learned. Cain learned it. If I didn’t make it obvious what to do to that guy, the next guy did. … He’s not coming back. I don’t even know why he would have the desire. … The guys these days are too far ahead. You can’t be one-dimensional. This isn’t the early ’90s.
After recording three straight first-round knockouts inside the Octagon between May 2008 and March 2009, Carwin got a shot at the interim UFC interim heavyweight title against Frank Mir at UFC 111.
Another brutal stoppage later, Carwin was the interim champ in March 2010 and waited in the wings for Lesnar to return from his first bout with diverticulitis, an intestinal disease.
After a year on the shelf, Lesnar returned to face Carwin at UFC 116. Despite eating a brutal onslaught of punches for the better part of the opening frame, the champ somehow managed to survive.
The former NCAA Division I wrestling champion scored a quick takedown early in the second round and managed to lock up an arm triangle choke to secure a stunning come-from-behind submission victory.
Lesnar then lost the title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in October 2010 and retired after a second battle with diverticulitis that culminated in a quick TKO loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in December 2011.
After the loss to The Demolition Man, Lesnar said he’d never set foot in the Octagon again, though rumors are running rampant about a possible return, as the WWE heavyweight champion’s contract is up in the first quarter of 2015, per Raimondi.
Meanwhile, Carwin hasn’t competed since UFC 131 in June 2011, where he suffered a lopsided loss to Junior dos Santos in a brutal, bloody affair.
In the event that Lesnar does decide to make another run at the UFC heavyweight title, would a rematch with Carwin make sense?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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