Greeley, Colo. native and the top UFC Heavyweight contender Shane Carwin is expected to sign bout agreements to fight against former UFC Heavyweight champion and jiu-jitsu ace Frank Mir. A few months ago it was expected that Carwin would square off for the Heavyweight title against current champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 108 in January, but Lesnar has been sidelined from training due to a stomach and intestinal illness called diverticulitis.
With Lesnar still recovering from surgery to repair the problems Carwin has been kept in waiting to see who his next opponent would be. After Mir came away from last weekend’s UFC 107 event with a quick 1st round submission victory over Cheick Kongo, he earned himself a spot back in contention for another title shot and it appears an interim title fight will be set between Mir and Carwin at UFC 111 which is scheduled to take place in Newark, New Jersey on March 27. While the bout has yet to be confirmed Carwin has had this to say on his website in recent days:
Carwin said:
“I expect to make my return to the UFC in March 2010. I will be fighting in Newark New Jersey at UFC 111. I have not signed any contracts yet but I have told my manager to inform UFC Matchmaker that “I accept the offer.” I will have been out of the Octagon for about a year when this fight happens but I expect to be in the best shape of my life. I do hope to someday get the opportunity to punch Brock a few times and hope he has a speedy and full recovery. I look forward to fighting again, fighting is what I love to do. I have a ton of respect for my proposed opponent. He has a good stand up game and can be effective on the ground. The only way to become the best fighter is to continually challenge yourself against the best fighters in the World.”
This comes days after he stated:
“The main question I am getting is would I fight Frank? The answer is easy YES. I am not a fighter who decides who he fights, I fight who I am told to fight. I like it that way, I am not trying to build a legacy I am trying to fight the best fighters in the World and determine where I fit in. Mir is a multiple time Champion, who has been counted out more than Mike Tyson to only find himself right back at the top. He is a LEGEND of the sport and I would be honored to fight him.”
Carwin grew up in Greeley, Colo. and often volunteers as a coach with the University of Northern Colorado‘s wrestling team. He trains with the famous Greg Jackson in New Mexico along with other Colorado area fighters such as Nate Marquardt and Brendan Schaub. Carwin has his purple belt in jiu-jitsu under Marquardt and was a two-time NCAA Division II Wrestling National Runner-Up Heavyweight in 1996-7, and the NCAA II Wrestling Heavyweight National Champion in 1999. He was also a two-time All-American in football and he received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines as well as a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Technology from Western State College.
Appropriately nicknamed Shane “The Engineer” Carwin, he has gone undefeated in the octagon and as a professional mixed martial artist and has proven that he hits as hard, if not harder, than anyone in the sport. Carwin has also proven that he can take a punch and comeback fighting and he has to be recognized as a true threat to anyone in the division as he can wrestle with the likes of Lesnar and fellow top contender Cain Velasquez and he can also defend against solid jiu-jitsu against guys like Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who are the two best heavyweights in the world at the technique.
Once the bout becomes official look back here for a report on the match up and how Mir and Carwin will look to outmatch each other once the fence closes and they square off inside the ultimate proving grounds, the UFC octagon.