Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar: After UFC 111, This Is the Right Fight

The right fight is finally going to happen this summer. 

After completely dominating Frank Mir in their interim title fight last night, Shane Carwin is now set to take on the beastly heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, this summer.

Things have been put together the way they were originally supposed to have been last year.

If it had not been for Lesnar’s illness, he and Carwin would have already settled their differences at UFC 106 this past November.

Instead, Brock sat out and MMA faithful speculated about him dropping down to 220 pounds, while others complained that he wasn’t stripped of his coveted title of champion.

Fact of the matter is, during the time in which Lesnar was using up his sick days, fans witnessed the rise of Cain Velasquez, Minotauro Noguiera’s collapse, and Shane Carwin earn the respect that warrants a title shot.

Say what you will about Carwin and his performance against Gabriel Gonzaga, he still won that fight by knockout. 

At this point, that’s all that counts.

Coming in against Mir, Carwin stepped on the scales at the weigh-ins and some whispered about his physique and how it might not have been as chiseled as it was before. 

Did that matter against Mir?  No, it didn’t.

Speak physique all you want, the one thing that didn’t change is the size of Carwin’s fists.

They both weigh the same as before and have just as much firepower as any .50 caliber armor-piercing ammunition.  Ask Frank Mir.

As for Lesnar’s former nemesis, Mir, he now has recent loses to the two top heavyweights in the division and arguably won’t stand a chance against younger, faster competition like Cain Velasquez.

This puts Mir out into the Ozarks of heavyweights with a question—who should he fight next?  A gatekeeper to Todd Duffee, perhaps?

According to B/R MMA writer Brian Oswald , UFC president Dana White talked about plans for Velasquez and dos Santos at the UFC 111 press conference. “Cain’s probably going to get the next [title] shot,” said White. "dos Santos will not [wait], dos Santos will fight again."

Could this mean that Mir is destined to clash with Junior dos Santos later this year?  Possibly, but fans would probably say that they would rather see Cain and dos Santos meet at some point this year, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be for the title.

For Carwin, things are finally coming together the way they were intended, regardless of what his opponent from last night does from this point out.

The July 4 weekend will be full of fireworks beyond celebrating Independence Day.  Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar will be in the octagon to fight for the heavyweight title, and things are going to get nasty. 

Believe that!

Follow Erik “Nahm” Fontanez on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NahmMMA .