It has been a long time coming for heavyweight contender Shane Carwin’s return to the octagon. I’m sure the massive, burly contender has some pent up frustration in those frozen ham mitts of his. His return will happen on June 11th at UFC 131 Lesnar vs. Dos Santos in Vancouver, against 2003 ADCC champion Jon Olav Einemo. After a near twelve month layoff due to injury and rehab the question is, will his back surgery play a role in his return?
The Engineer is no spring chicken and at 36 years old, any major surgery is going to effect how you perform in different ways going forward. Carwin will surely have to monitor fatigue and test run certain twists and movements in his training, but come fight night I believe the injury will play little to no role in his return.
For one, I think he has had enough time off since his surgery to really test and work those things out in his training. We all know training cannot mirror all the intensity of a real fight but in many ways for a back that is recovering from surgery training can be worse. Carwin recently provided MMAJunkie with some insight into his recovery,
“Everything has been real successful. I have feeling back in my right arm and the nerves that were firing in my back that were causing knots are gone. I feel really good. My body is healthy right now.” Carwin told MMAJunkie.com http://mmajunkie.com/news/23368/ufc-131s-carwin-says-surgery-a-major-success-ready-for-underrated-einemo.mma.
He has stated before that the surgery was needed to clean up injuries that he has had since joining the UFC, and that he was in the practice of getting pain relief injections to be able to train and fight. Any solution away from that practice must be a great lift not only physically, but also mentally.
The other main reason why I don’t feel that the surgery will be a factor in his return is his opponent Jon Olav Einemo. The Norwegian is no slouch as he is best known for his defeat of Roger Gracie to win the 2003 ADCC. I come from the “what have you done for me lately” school of thought, and Einemo’s last fight was a submission win over James Thompson in late 2006.
Carwin had this to say about his opponent, “It’s an exciting fight. He’s very dangerous. He was picked as the man to beat Fedor back in the day.”
An interesting comment considering the fact that in early 2006, Einemo lost a unanimous decision to the man who ended up beating Fedor, Fabricio Verdum.
Make no mistake, this is a tough style match-up for Carwin. Being submitted by Brock Lesnar showed weaknesses in his conditioning and his ground skills. Einemo has been hand picked to exploit those weaknesses and see if Shane has evolved his game. His repaired back will be most vulnerable as he tries to defend the take downs that Jon will be shooting for all night and if the fight goes to the ground, it could be a major problem for Carwin. He has to keep this one standing.
The Engineer has had ample time to recover from his surgery. No doubt he has been testing it from every angle defending take downs and submissions in his preparation for what Einemo will bring at UFC 131. There is a real, legit chance Carwin may lose via submission on June 11th in Vancouver, but the back surgery will play little to no role in that happening.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com