Shane Carwin parts ways with UFC, pursues MMA comeback with rival promotions

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin is coming back to mixed martial arts (MMA) at some point later this year, or perhaps in early 2017, as promised.

But it won't be inside the Octagon.

The full-time engineer is no longer operating under the UFC banner and has now started pursuing rival fight promotions.

"We decided mutually that my value and what I bring to the heavyweight division will be better utilized elsewhere," Carwin wrote on mixedmartialarts.com. "I am now a free agent. The heavyweight division has a lot of great fights and not all of them are in the UFC. I want to prove to myself and my fans that I belong at the top of the division. Today that journey begins."

I'm sure the first phone call will be to this guy.

The 41-year-old Carwin (12-2) hasn't see action in over five years, (temporarily) retiring in the wake of his three-round shellacking at the hands of fellow division face smasher Junior dos Santos. That said, he's still one of the most powerful punchers at 265 pounds.

See you on Spike?