Shane Carwin Out of UFC 125

[Turd Ferguson]

UFC 125, which is being titled "Resolution", because "Edgar vs. Maynard" probably wouldn't sell any PPVs to the casual fan, is a card that is in need of a big name to help support the weak (to the casual fan) main event. With Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson as the announced co-main event, you had two recognizable heavyweights going to war against each other.

Shane Carwin announced today that he was going to elect to have surgery on his back, and he won't be fighting at UFC 125.

"I am going to pull out of the fight with Roy Nelson. As many of you know I have been having some back pain. I had an MRI yesterday and I have some damage that may really require surgery. If the doctors do not have to perform surgery then I will be out 8-12 weeks. If they do have to perform surgery I do not know how long I will be out of action."

"I was really looking forward to fighting again and obviously this is a very disappointing turn of events. My manager said "You can’t fight the best fighters in the world with just heart, it is time to stop limping to the top of the mountain and get healthy so you can climb it on your terms." I have been up all night thinking about this decision and what I may be missing by making it."

This creates major problems for this card now as the UFC was banking on having a big co-main event. The only fighter who could possibly step in and still have big time name recognition is Frank Mir, and he might be iced for the potential rubber match against Brock.

I think Minotauro Nogueira would probably be the best available option. It would be too depressing to see Cro Cop get wrecked by Big Country. Nogueira should be ready to go by January 1. It would also be a big name, and it would certainly be a pretty interesting matchup.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Yeah this definitely sucks, I was looking forward to Carwin/Nelson.

With Lesnar being medically suspended for 180 days, that just might open it up for Mir to step in for this fight. Of course it can always be reduced if a doctor clears him. Plus I personally think Lesnar will be out of action until late Spring, early Summer. If these two do fight, at least we know if they go into a clinch Nelson will at least throw some punches, as he works well in the clinch.

I agree Big Nog would be the other choice if he is all healed up by then. Its to bad that Matt Mitrione isn't co-main event status, would be a great test for him in his ever improving skills.

 

[Via Armbar]

Hopefully they go with Mir and give us a fight I've wanted to see for a while now. For once there's a guy who can out grapple Mir on the ground and Nelson does have a win over him in a grappling match. The standup would be very intriguing because Frank is much more comfortable on his feet but Roy has a tremendous chin and surprising power in his hands. I'd actually give an edge to Roy there as well because Mir loses heart and focus after he gets hit and Nelson...well just watch the Dos Santos fight. Guy has an awesomely tough head.

Imagining Nog fighting nowadays just makes me nervous. His chin is clearly losing strength and overall he is slowing down. I have no questions he could submit Nelson if he were smaller, but Roy's size is an advantage for him. It would be interesting to see but not as interesting as Mir/Nelson to me.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

Well that doesn't look to well for UFC 125 as i was really looking forward to this fight. I love watching Shane Carwin because this man doesn't just win he absoltely dominates and decimates his opponents, he would've had an excellent entertaining fight with Big Country. As for his replacement there is a couple viable contenders in Mirko Cro Cop, Frank Mir or Big Nog. The best for me would be Frank Mir as they have a really interesting dynamic and contrasting styles. This is a long shot but i would like to see Pat Barry return and go up against Roy Nelson he looked excellent against Mirko Cro Cop.

 

[jmt225]

Cro Cop has come out and said that he would be willing to step in for Shane Carwin and fight Roy Nelson.

A part of me wants that to happen so Cro Cop's career won't end with his last fight being against Frank Mir (what a disaster that was, as I'm sure you all already know), but then another part of me just wonders... how will today's Cro Cop beat Roy Nelson? Cro Cop is just nowhere near as aggressive as he used to be, and while I doubt Nelson would be able to take Cro Cop down, he will be very aggressive and pressure Cro Cop the entire duration of the fight. If Cro Cop doesn't match Nelson's aggressiveness, then he's going to get his ass kicked. However, if he does, then there's no doubt in my mind that Cro Cop would redeem himself from the last fight.

So, yeah... I'm 50/50 about it. While Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson also interests me, Guy's suggestion of Big Nog is something I'd love to see. Big Nog is better than Nelson at every aspect, and I believe he would have absolutely no problem with him. It'd be awesome to see Big Nog get that win over a big UFC name once again and get his career back on track.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

OH DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN NO

Via Twitter...

Spike has got me on all night tonight, wonder y

He's one of the most boring fighters in the history of the UFC, and the most boring champion. He's a colossal piece of shit, and a complete joke. I really, really hope that Dana isn't considering bringing him back. It seems like it's way too convenient for him to post this, when the UFC is currently scrambling to find an opponent for Roy Nelson... especially when a replacement would have been announced by now.

If Dana really decides to bring Sylvia back, he better be one and done if Big Country beats him.

 

[jmt225]

I think Tim Sylvia is full of shit right there, man. I mean, first of all... the fat slob can't make 265, so that already takes him out of the picture. But secondly, there are too many other options, of which we've name. Cro Cop, Big Nog, and Frank Mir have absolutely nothing scheduled at this point. The UFC could easily throw one of those guys in. Hell, what about that moron Brendan Schaub? His loss against Nelson is holding him back from being taken seriously... why not set up a second fight between those two? Or what about Ben Rothwell? Even he's a better choice than Tim Sylvia.

Dana does a lot of shit that I question, but even he's not dumb enough to give Tim Sylvia this shot. Sylvia has done absolutely nothing to deserve it, and nobody would have any interest whatsoever in seeing him back in the UFC to get pounded by Roy Nelson.

 

[Tha Wolfpac]

I was kidding a first but seriously put Pat Barry in this match, he is an up and comer, is very good standing up and can really give Big Country a run for his money. I seriously see a lot of potential in Pat Barry after that fight with Mirko Cro Cop but this is all assuming he has healed and is ready to go. If Pat Barry wins he moves on up and buils credibility. He loses any way he is winning he is a green fighter looking to expand and evolve.

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

Roy Nelson had a co-main event slot with his name on it for UFC 125 but an injury to his opponent Shane Carwin has led to Nelson being removed from the card, something he's not to happy about:

"I think my feelings were a little hurt. I was hoping they could find somebody to replace [Carwin]. This is one of the biggest cards of the year, and I was in the co-main event, and I was really trying to make sure my knee was better. The UFC really pushed me hard to get through with my rehab so I could fight on this card. My doctors said I shouldn't fight again until February or March, but I stepped up because the UFC wanted me to. I stepped up for the UFC, and I hoped they would do the same for me. The thing is nobody wants to fight a fat guy like me. Cro Cop is a legend in this sport, and I would've loved to have fought him. I'd like to fight [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira for the same reason. I'd love to fight [Alistair] Overeem, Brock Lesnar or The Undertaker. [UFC President] Dana White asks people, 'So, you want to be a f---ing fighter?' I love to fight. I'm one of those guys."

Credit: MMAnews

I think Roy needs to toe the company line in my opinion he is too willing to show dissent within the ranks by him (atleast it is how it comes across me).

I just don't see with as a fight that Roy will win though. I think that Carwin is far too strong of a wrestler for Nelson to handle and would no doubt have a shorter reach and a hard time with someone the size of Shane. This isn't to say he can't win because he has some skills and would no doubt (shocks me still) have a better gas tank than Shane and is a BJJ Black belt.

 

[Paul_J_L]

I was kidding a first but seriously put Pat Barry in this match, he is an up and comer, is very good standing up and can really give Big Country a run for his money. I seriously see a lot of potential in Pat Barry after that fight with Mirko Cro Cop but this is all assuming he has healed and is ready to go. If Pat Barry wins he moves on up and buils credibility. He loses any way he is winning he is a green fighter looking to expand and evolve.

Well, I agree that Pat is an up and comer. But the thing is that we're talking about a co-main, and Dana sees this card as a weak one to the casual fan, so adding a Barry-Nelson match is not a good idea as Barry is no where near the level of a co-main for any show outside a normal Fight Night show.

Seriously, I'm going for Mir or Big Nog. Until Barry gets some big named fights under his belt and wins them, I don't think a Barry-Nelson match makes any sense to anyone outside of the Hardcore fans.

 

[Paul_J_L]

Credit: MMAnews

I think Roy needs to toe the company line in my opinion he is too willing to show dissent within the ranks by him (atleast it is how it comes across me).

I just don't see with as a fight that Roy will win though. I think that Carwin is far too strong of a wrestler for Nelson to handle and would no doubt have a shorter reach and a hard time with someone the size of Shane. This isn't to say he can't win because he has some skills and would no doubt (shocks me still) have a better gas tank than Shane and is a BJJ Black belt.

True, the only thing Nelson had was his Submission skills. But I'm sure that he would've been working on his stand-up and found a way to close in the gap and make the fight a little more entertaining.

But, like it was mentioned, he had a back injury, so I was thinking that the reason for why his blow-up in the Lesnar fight might have been because of the back injury. If that is the case, that guy has a heart of a lion for going into a fight with a much bigger opponent with a injury.

But, like I've mentioned, I see Big Nog or Mir taking Carwin's place. Again, because they need a big named fight to co-main because the current main event is not casual-friendly, and a big named replacement might get a couple more purchases.

Personally, I see the co-main being Nelson vs Big Nog, as Mir is waiting for his big-money rematch against Lesnar and Big Nog really isn't doing anything at the moment.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Well Carwin had the back surgery yesterday. There still is no timetable on how long he will be out of action.

The UFC decided to pull Nelson from the card too, as they couldn't find a replacement for Carwin. Guess we'll see Lesnar/Mir then for sure, because Mir could've easily took this fight. With the canceled fight, this gives Nelson more time to get his knee to 100%.

So the first ever UFC Featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Josh Grispi will now be the co-main event.