Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:
Following the announcement surrounding Brock Lesnar’s sudden departure from the main event at UFC 131, it has been confirmed that Shane Carwin will step in for the former UFC heavyweight champion.
This is the second time …
Bleacher Report’s Mike Hodges:
Following the announcement surrounding Brock Lesnar‘s sudden departure from the main event at UFC 131, it has been confirmed that Shane Carwin will step in for the former UFC heavyweight champion.
This is the second time in one week the UFC has had to find a replacement for their main event slot. Earlier this week it was learned that both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard had to pull out of their title bout at UFC 130 after sustaining injuries.
The news first broke during a conference call with UFC president, Dana White.
“He was all bummed out about pulling out of the fight,” White said regarding Lesnar’s health, courtesy of MMAFighting.com.
“I told him, ‘Don’t worry about the fight.’ I’m glad it’s not life-threatening.”
White then revealed Lesnar’s replacement, Shane Carwin.
This is yet another big hit to the UFC. Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard both had to pull out of their scheduled bout at UFC 130 and now UFC 131 sees the loss of Brock Lesnar—their biggest draw.In a media conference call at 5:00 PM EST, UFC Preside…
This is yet another big hit to the UFC. Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard both had to pull out of their scheduled bout at UFC 130 and now UFC 131 sees the loss of Brock Lesnar—their biggest draw.
In a media conference call at 5:00 PM EST, UFC President Dana White announced that Brock Lesnar is suffering from Diverticulitis again.
Bloody Elbow reports that Brock is not retiring and that he is debating having surgery, although he has no timetable for his return.
Fortunately, Shane Carwin is now being tapped to fight Junior Dos Santos, with reports indicating that the winner will still be getting the opportunity to fight Cain Velasquez for the heavyweight championship.
This is a big fight for Carwin to be taking on such short notice, but at 36 years old, even he realized he is running out of time. He shared his feelings on being chosen to replace Brock via his website.
“Junior is a serious fight and not the type of fight that you would normally take on a 30-day notice, but I have a dream to chase and I do not have a lot of time to chase it. This is an opportunity to put myself in contention for the title. I know my coaches will have me ready, so I have everything to gain.”
Carwin is a very legitimate contender and a great choice as a late replacement, as he himself had Brock Lesnar bloodied up and nearly finished in their title bout at UFC 116.
The reality of the situation is, however, that he looked absolutely gassed entering the second round of that fight. Although Carwin has proven knockout power, the fact that his tank is already questionable, combined with a recent surgery and short training camp, is a recipe for disaster.
Unless he manages to finish Junior Dos Santos in the first round, which seems unlikely given the Brazilian’s great boxing, he is going to be in serious trouble.
This clearly was not what the UFC was hoping for, as the pay-per-view draw for a card without Brock Lesnar will be significantly less. But at least Velasquez will be given the opportunity to face a new opponent, no matter the outcome. The beating that Cain delivered to Brock the first time around isn’t anything we need to witness twice.
Lightweights Mike Brown and Nam Phan have recently been added to UFC 133, according to MMAJunkie.com.Brown is heading into this bout in a must-win situation, going 2-4 in his last six bouts. Brown last fought at UFC 125 in a bout that saw him on the lo…
Lightweights Mike Brown and Nam Phan have recently been added to UFC 133, according to MMAJunkie.com.
Brown is heading into this bout in a must-win situation, going 2-4 in his last six bouts. Brown last fought at UFC 125 in a bout that saw him on the losing end of a split decision to Diego Nunes. Brown followed that up with another decision loss, this time to Rani Yahya at UFC Fight Night 23.
Phan will be heading into this bout following a controversial split decision loss to Leonard Garcia at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale. According to MMAJunkie, Phan was scheduled to rematch Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24, but a foot injury forced him to withdraw.
The loss also puts Phan into a tough position, as he too will be desperately seeking a win after going win-less in three of his last four bouts.
Although the main card looks to be finalized with bouts like Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis and Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the fight between Brown and Phan will likely been featured on the preliminary card.
UFC 133 will take place on August 6, live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Following the announcement surrounding Brock Lesnar’s sudden departure from the main event at UFC 131, it has been confirmed that Shane Carwin will step in for the former UFC heavyweight champion.This is the second time in one week the UFC has had to f…
Following the announcement surrounding Brock Lesnar‘s sudden departure from the main event at UFC 131, it has been confirmed that Shane Carwin will step in for the former UFC heavyweight champion.
This is the second time in one week the UFC has had to find a replacement for their main event slot. Earlier this week it was learned that both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard had to pull out of their title bout at UFC 130 after sustaining injuries.
The news first broke during a conference call with UFC president, Dana White.
“He was all bummed out about pulling out of the fight,” White said during the media call, courtesy of MMAFighting.com.
“I told him, ‘Don’t worry about the fight.’ I’m glad it’s not life-threatening,” he said regarding Lesnar’s health.
White then revealed Lesnar’s replacement, Shane Carwin.
Carwin has accepted the bout on short notice and is aware of the opportunity that he has been given.
“This is an opportunity to put myself in contention for the title. I know my coaches will have me ready so I have everything to gain,” Carwin said on his blog.
One has to wonder how Carwin will be able to prepare for an opponent like Dos Santos, especially on a thirty day notice, and against a striker who is as equally as dangerous on the feet.
Also, it is worth noting that Carwin has not been in the Octagon since last summer. Coincidentally, Lesnar was the last opponent Carwin competed against, and could likely be heading into his bout versus Dos Santos with some ring rust.
The winner will be next in line to square off against UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez.
The main event for UFC 131 was scheduled to be Brock Lesnar vs. Junior dos Santos, but has now been changed to Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos. Lesnar is being forced out of the fight due to a flare up of diverticulitis.Carwin, a former UFC interim …
The main event for UFC 131 was scheduled to be Brock Lesnar vs. Junior dos Santos, but has now been changed to Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos. Lesnar is being forced out of the fight due to a flare up of diverticulitis.
Carwin, a former UFC interim heavyweight champion himself, was scheduled to fight UFC newcomer Jon Olav Einemo at UFC 131, but was informed by his manager that he would instead be bumped up to the main event.
The news actually came as a surprise to Carwin, who had no idea about the situation until his manager informed him.
“I was training and my phone was blowing up so I looked over and saw some missed calls from Dana and Joe Silva,” Carwin said on his blog. “I reached out to my manager to see what was going on and he informed me that we are taking Lesnar’s spot for 131.”
The timing was actually convenient for Carwin, given that he was preparing for a fight and will just need to change the focus of his training. Dos Santos will need to do the same.
“Junior is a serious fight and not the type of fight that you would normally take on a 30 day notice but I have a dream to chase and I do not have a lot of time to chase it. This is an opportunity to put myself in contention for the title. I know my Coaches will have me ready so I have everything to gain.”
Despite losing his last fight in the Octagon to Lesnar, Carwin gave his best wishes his former foe as he prepared to take his place.
“I hope Brock is able to recover. I look forward to facing him again one day.”
The string of top-level fighters needing to drop out of fights continues today. Bleacher Report learned on a UFC conference call that Brock Lesnar has officially pulled out of his scheduled UFC 131 bout against Junior dos Santos. He will be replaced by…
The string of top-level fighters needing to drop out of fights continues today. Bleacher Report learned on a UFC conference call that Brock Lesnar has officially pulled out of his scheduled UFC 131 bout against Junior dos Santos. He will be replaced by fellow top heavyweight contender, Shane Carwin.
After spending nearly a year outside of the Octagon, battling nearly to death with a disease known as diverticulitis, Lesnar returned to defend his UFC heavyweight championship against Shane Carwin before eventually dropping the belt to Cain Velasquez later in the year.
Unfortunately, the disease has been acting up again and has significantly impacted his training regimen, causing him to drop out of the fight.
“I want to thank the UFC, Mr. [Dana] White and I want to apologize to Junior dos Santos and to Spike TV. This is an unfortunate situation for me,” Lesnar started. “Diverticulitis is something that doesn’t go away. It’s something that’s in your colon for the rest of your life.”
“I was forced to make a decision to go back down to the doctor this week to determine how far along this thing is.”
Thankfully, the situation is not as dire as it was the first time he was dealing with it, but it is becoming increasingly likely that Lesnar will eventually need surgery.
“It’s not as serious as last time, it just didn’t allow me to train the way I needed to train for a number one contender’s bout,” Lesnar conceded. “I’m forced with the decision to either have surgery or deal with this for the rest of my life. A lot of things go through your mind as an athlete. This is something that has been wearing on me for about a month now.”
But true to what he has always said, Lesnar understands that fighting is only a small part of his life. His loved ones are what matters most.
“It wouldn’t be fair to myself, my family, or the people I give a performance in front of. I wouldn’t have been 100 percent on June 11. I’m not there now. My health is number one, my family is number one.”
Still, the former champion insists this is not the end.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not retiring. This is not the end of my career. I love this sport. This is not the end of Brock Lesnar…Far from it.”
He has not decided whether or not he will get surgery immediately or will attempt to fight it without going under the knife, as he did before. Brock, his family and doctors, are still awaiting test results to determine what the next course of action is.
“My diet has carried me this far. It was a miracle that I didn’t have to have the surgery. Everything was back to normal. But diverticulitis never disappears. It’s whether they become inflamed and infected. I felt the symptoms about three weeks ago and I got on the antibiotics and they didn’t do it, so I started a second course of antibiotics.”
Though he is not in the hospital at the moment, the battle with the disease has taken a serious physical toll on Lesnar as he prepared for his bout with Dos Santos.
“There were days when I had to miss a day just to rest for the next day, but when I got in, I just didn’t have the energy to be at the top of my game.”
“When you have a 12-week training camp and it’s condensed to six, it’s not a wise athletic decision. I just didn’t feel like I could do it.”
Dana White made sure to note that he understands, respects and agrees that Lesnar’s health is more important than fighting for the UFC. But with the company’s top draw being knocked out of the UFC 131 event, the replacement has already been named in the form of former interim champion, Shane Carwin.
Carwin was originally scheduled to fight UFC newcomer, Jon Olav Einemo on the same show, but will now get a shot to prove himself once again against one of the top fighters in the world.
No replacement for Carwin has been named yet, but Dana White did indicate that the company is working on it.
