Cain Velasquez Will Wait For Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin UFC 116 Winner

Cain Velasquez will sit on the shelf, making him the official No. 1 contender to challenge the Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin winner; those two are likely to lock horns at UFC 116, which is currently slated for fourth of July weekend.

Dana White confirmed this in a post fight Q&A to select media, following the official post fight press conference.

"Cain's waiting in the wings now. Cain's probably going to wait for the next [title] shot," Dana stated matter-of-factly.

While many would prefer to see Cain Velasquez collide with fellow young stud Junior Dos Santos now, it appears that the UFC doesn't want to let one pick off the other, rather saving them both for impending title fights in 2010/early 2011.

With Lesnar-Carwin likely to happen in July, Cain Velasquez could fight the winner as early as October, or be saved for the year-end show if they want to stretch it out that far.

As far as dos Santos, he will not be sitting on the shelves.

"dos Santos will not [wait], dos Santos will fight again," Dana stated, but did not elaborate on who his next fight could be against.

One obvious opponent would be Frank Mir, coming last night’s devastating loss at the hands of the newest heavyweight interim champion.

The UFC may shy away from that match up though, preferring to give dos Santos an easier path to his title shot while letting Mir lick his wounds.

No matter who dos Santos fights next, most will consider the challenger a step down in competition.  

The prospect of having Cain Velasquez waiting in the wings to take on the Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin winner, with Junior dos Santos in the rear view mirror, has to have fans excited for what has suddenly become the most intriguing division in the sport.