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Carwin Overshadowed by Lesnar in UFC 116 Leadup, but Ready to Rumble

Filed under: UFC, NewsBrock 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-Amer…

Filed under: UFC, News

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.”

Report: Chris Leben in for Injured Wanderlei Silva at UFC 116

leben

It is times like this that ‘bloggers’ really dread (no, we’re not completely opposed to being described as ‘hacks’); so just what in the hell are we referring to? Well, if you haven’t heard by now, and didn’t read the above headline, better put the coffee down as alas our friends, Wanderlei Silva has reportedly fractured his ribs while preparing for his scheduled UFC 116 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama. The former Pride champ is out. Take a moment, grab another donut; it will help dull the pain.

MMA Fighting was apparently the first to confirm with Dana White that indeed “The Axe Murderer” is out of the co-main event for the promotion’s July 3^rd event. Then, in a follow up report from MMA Junkie, the outlet confirmed with sources that Chris Leben has agreed to step in for Silva. MMA Fighting also confirmed afterwards that Leben will now face the accomplished judo competitor at UFC 116.

So, now we’ve got the “Cat Smasher” instead of the “Axe Murderer”; although it’s painfully clear that we here at Fix were really looking forward to seeing Wanderlei fight again (as keeping thoughts to ourselves isn’t something we do), Leben is a pretty good substitute no? We all know he’s going to go after the Japanese middleweight (just like Wandy would have), he also loves to slug it out (as does Mr. Silva) and Akiyama is no shrinking violet when it comes to stand-up battles. It’s also a huge opportunity for Leben; he just took out the rising Aaron Simpson last weekend, and another win over a notable dude like Akiyama would say a lot.

To bet on UFC 116 head here.

Wanderlei Reveals That He Was Going to Fight Akiyama With a Torn Knee; Says Broken Ribs Made His Body Stop

(Anyone who isn’t a fan of Wand, isn’t a fan of MMA.)
Fighters Only spoke to Wanderlei Silva last night about his painful decision to pull out of his UFC 116 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama. "The Axe Murderer" revealed that he had torn liga…

(Anyone who isn’t a fan of Wand, isn’t a fan of MMA.)

Fighters Only spoke to Wanderlei Silva last night about his painful decision to pull out of his UFC 116 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama. "The Axe Murderer" revealed that he had torn ligaments in his knee a few weeks ago, but said he was planning to fight with the injured joint anyway. He says that the combination of his knee injury and a trio of broken ribs he sustained while training on Friday made it impossible to continue his camp, let alone fight in a week and a half.

“I tried training more upper body and boxing; I kept losing weight and I was gonna fight no matter what. Last Friday, during sparring, I injured my rib. It was very painful and the next day I had an x-ray and an MRI. I discovered I had three broken ribs.

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(Rule #17 of the Fighter Fist Pose: Never rest your head on the shoulder of a chubby man in a floral-print shirt, as it will completely negate the fist-pose’s power. / Photo courtesy of the TUF 11 Finale: Afterparty pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com…

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– Fabricio Werdum: ‘I will choke Fedor in the first round’ (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Jan Finney Isn’t Going to “Cuddle” Cris Cyborg (FightMagazine)

– Ten Things We Learned From WEC 49 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Biggest Story Heading Into UFC 116 Is Not Brock Lesnar, It’s Shane Carwin (WatchKalibRun)

– ‘Strikeforce: Los Angeles’ Fighter Salaries (MMA Fighting)

– Kendall Grove Says Spike TV Controls ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, Not the UFC (MiddleEasy)

– MMAScraps Radio: Cain Velasquez, Ben Rothwell and Chris Barnett (MMA Scraps)

Shane Carwin to Make $40,000 to Show, $80,000 to Win at UFC 116

Filed under: UFC, NewsAlthough Shane Carwin is only making $40,000/$40,000 his upcoming UFC 116 fight — far less compared to what opponent Brock Lesnar will be earning — and would have preferred a percentage of the pay-per-view buys that typically be…

Filed under: UFC, News

Although Shane Carwin is only making $40,000/$40,000 his upcoming UFC 116 fight — far less compared to what opponent Brock Lesnar will be earning — and would have preferred a percentage of the pay-per-view buys that typically benefits UFC superstars, Carwin says he loves to compete and “would have done it for less.”

“I won’t lie and say I wish I was getting a piece of this PPV,” Carwin wrote Monday on his latest blog. “Of course I want that, so does every other fighter on the card that is not. I love to fight but I would love to fight for millions of dollars. Who wouldn’t want to be paid millions of dollars for doing what they love (aside from that girl in Twilight)? But, I am not fighting for the money. If I was I would have checked out of this sport LONG ago.”

Brock Lesnar Announces Himself Lighter, Retooled and Ready for Shane Carwin

Filed under: Fighting, UFCBy his mere presence, Brock Lesnar found a way to change the game in the UFC’s heavyweight division. A weight class that had previously been big on quickness and/or power striking (think Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski and Tim …

Filed under: Fighting, UFC

By his mere presence, Brock Lesnar found a way to change the game in the UFC’s heavyweight division. A weight class that had previously been big on quickness and/or power striking (think Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia), suddenly became the domain of mega-heavyweights who cut to make the 265-pound limit and mauled their opponents with strength and wrestling.

But just when you think you know exactly what you’re in for with Lesnar, the UFC heavyweight champion has gone and if not reinvented, at least retooled his attack.

Speaking today about his upcoming UFC 116 championship title defense against Shane Carwin following a year away, Lesnar told reporters on a conference call that he’d dropped weight, added a new striking coach and focused heavily on his strength and conditioning.