Illness has struck again as Brock Lesnar has been forced out of his June 11th matchup against Junior Dos Santos. In 2009, Lesnar had a life-altering battle against the disease known as diverticulitis that almost ended his fighting career and threatened his life. That illness has resurfaced and forced Lesnar out of the number-one contender fight.
Stepping in will be former interim heavyweight champion, Shane Carwin. Carwin has not stepped into the Octagon since his July 2010 defeat at the hands of Lesnar. Carwin’s own health problems have sidelined him as he had to deal with back surgery that caused him to pull out of recent matchups. His return to the cage has him one fight away from another shot at the UFC heavyweight strap.
Coming off of the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter; the Lesnar-Dos Santos matchup was building in anticipation as the weeks drew down. The Carwin-Dos Santos fight that has taken its place is just as exciting in my opinion. Along with that, I believe that Carwin has the abilities to threaten Dos Santos in more ways than Lesnar.
Carwin has the wrestling chops to take Dos Santos down to the cage; which is what I believe was Lesnar’s main strategy coming into this fight. A successful wrestler in his own right, Carwin would be able to take down many of the fighters who populate the heavyweight division if not all of them. Carwin is also a threat when the fight starts on the feet. His striking has dropped multiple opponents in past bouts. While I believe that Dos Santos has the better technique, Carwin will have the advantage in the power department. At any moment in the fight he can land with the power to stun or completely knock Dos Santos out.
With that being said, I feel that Dos Santos will win this bout and move on to face Cain Velasquez. A fighter who is coming off of a long layoff has a tough time being successful in his first bout. We’ve seen it multiple times before and I believe that Dos Santos is the type of opponent that is bad for anyone coming back from time away. Also, I believe the long lay-off will affect Carwin’s endurance levels. We saw how much that affected him during his fight against Lesnar. Next, Carwin is returning from back surgery. In MMA the core/back are is one of the most important parts of your body. The power in striking is generated from this area of the body and Carwin’s injury was severe enough to require surgery to repair.
Lesnar-Dos Santos was set to be a major matchup in the UFC heavyweight. Being replaced with Shane Carwin isn’t a step down in any shape or fashion. He brings many of the same skills to the table with a few others that may threaten Dos Santos in an interesting fashion.
