Since Saturday night we’ve eagerly joined the multitude of MMA fans singing the praises of Shane Carwin; prior to UFC 111 people knew he was a beast, but his destruction of Frank Mir just really hit it home. Well, if you still aren’t impressed by Carwin (which could mean you just desperately want to be different), that opinion might change after you read this.
According to Carwin’s official blog (thanks to Cage Potato for the tip), pre-fight testing left the heavyweight feeling ill shortly before his bout with Mir.
Apparently there was concern that one of the vessels in my brain looked as if it was connected on one end but not the other, the Dr. told me it could be that or could be a vessel that was widening or ballooning but they could not really tell and needed a better test. It sounded serious and I wanted to fight so I agreed to the test, which involved CT Angiography (CTA). They had to set up an IV and inject a contrast material in me (containing iodine) and named off some possible side effects, this was all fine, but not when you are less then a couple of days out from a fight. They dye made me pretty sick for about the next 24 hours. I was thankful they were being so thorough but it could not have come at a worse time
Carwin goes on to say that although his weight cutting was difficult, and that he was feeling “pretty drained”, after getting hit by Mir he knew he was “going to be okay.” Yes. Okay is an understatement. Couldn’t really tell that Carwin wasn’t 100% could you?