Lesnar vs Carwin Now Set For UFC 106
by Robert Sargent
Following the changes to the heavyweight bouts at UFC 104, it has now been confirmed that Shane Carwin will challenge Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 106. Tito Ortiz will also face Mark Coleman on the event's main card.
This is a tremendous opportunity for Carwin, who was originally set to battle undefeated star Cain Velasquez at UFC 104, and he now gets an immediate shot at the title.
Lesnar (4-1-0) underwent minor surgery following his UFC 100 fight with Frank Mir, but his quick recovery prompted the UFC to bring him back into action before the year's end. As the top draw in the UFC right now, which is a controversial topic itself, Lesnar will now headline the Las Vegas-based UFC 106 card against the undefeated Carwin (11-0-0).
Fans have speculated as to the outcome of this match for months, since even before Carwin was slated to face Velasquez. Now, they will get a chance to see the bout come to fruition as the pair of massive heavyweights square off for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
While Lesnar's game has evolved considerably since his first UFC appearance, his game plan for this fight should be straightforward. He will aim to take Carwin down and punish him with punches before looking for the finish. If Lesnar is able to dominate Carwin as he did to Mir in their second fight, Carwin's title bid may be one that he would like to forget.
However, as past fights and reports from training camps have detailed, Lesnar's striking and ability to take punches is very much a point of question. Though he floored Heath Herring with a massive punch early in their fight, Lesnar's striking has otherwise looked to be very one-dimensional and predictable. Mir hurt Lesnar in their second fight, which prompted Lesnar to immediately look for a takedown. If he cannot get Carwin down, Lesnar could be in big trouble.
Lesnar's key to victory is simple. He needs to take Carwin down and maul him with punches and anything else that he can throw. Letting Carwin get to his feet would be foolish unless Lesnar has developed new striking techniques to shock those in attendance.
Carwin needs to use his wrestling base and considerable strength to prevent Lesnar from taking him down. A Carwin victory by KO is a definite possibility, but Carwin could also win this fight via submission or by a five-round decision. He simply needs to keep the gigantic Lesnar off of him.
Whether Lesnar or Carwin emerge victorious, the UFC will have a massive heavyweight wrestler as their champion.
Also on the main card, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) will make his return to the UFC when he squares off with former UFC Heavyweight Champion and MMA legend Mark "The Hammer" Coleman (16-9-0) in a light heavyweight contest.
Most, including myself, wrote Coleman off after his atrocious performance against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 93, but he battled back and picked up an extremely impressive victory over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100. The fight with Bonnar was arguably Coleman's best performance in over four years.
Ortiz and Coleman possess nearly identical styles, as both are wrestlers who made the "ground and pound" technique famous. Unless either fighter opts to stand and trade, this will become a battle of who can take down whom. Until he fought Rua, Coleman had never been taken down in his entire career, while Ortiz struggled against another veteran wrestler, Randy Couture, in the past.
Ortiz will be the overwhelming favourite coming into the fight - though doubtfully the fan favourite - but if Coleman shows up in the shape that he was in for the Bonnar fight, Ortiz's return to the UFC could prove to be disastrous.
UFC 106 takes place on November 21st at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and also features a welterweight battle between Jon Fitch and Ricardo "Big Dog" Almeida.
