UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 106 heavyweight title fight on Nov. 21 against Shane Carwin after battling a lengthy illness that kept him from training for over three weeks.
From UFC President Dana White, courtesy of Yahoo Sports:
"He said he’s never been this sick in his life. He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it."
This is devastating news for a pay-per-view that is less than a month away; however, the UFC has already promoted Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz II into the main event slot and is currently assembling a co-main event to help round out the televised portion of the card.
According to Shane Carwin's official Twitter account, his chance to dethrone Lesnar for the heavyweight strap will come at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas.
"I just heard from Jason. Looks like it is postponed till Jan 2. I had h1n1 myself and I understand how devastating it can be."
Carwin was originally paired with Cain Velasquez for UFC 104 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., to determine a number one contender for Lesnar’s title.
It didn't last.
With Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira having already committed to the main event of UFC 102, there were some concerns within the organization that a suitable opponent would not be found for Lesnar by year’s end following his destruction of Frank Mir at UFC 100.
There was also the possibility of eliminating two major prospects within the division in a very short period of time had the winner of Carwin vs. Velasquez gone on to be defeated by the champ.
Velasquez subsequently obliterated Carwin's replacement, Ben Rothwell, at the Oct. 24 event and with his victory, is likely to face the winner of Lesnar vs. Carwin at some point in 2010.
Unless, of course, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has something to say about it.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on this story as it develops.
Get the latest gear
