Carwin Exiting UFC 125 with Back Injury

“I am going to pull out of the fight with Roy Nelson,” Carwin wrote on his blog at www.shane-carwin.com. “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.”

Based out of the Grudge Training Center in Colorado, Carwin’s last appearance in the Octagon resulted in a second-round submission loss at the hands of former UFC heavyweight king Brock Lesnar at UFC 116 in July. Though not competing in the cage, Carwin has made headlines since that defeat. In August, his name was mentioned by a U.S. attorney as one of 22 professional athletes who had obtained steroids from an Alabama pharmacy. Carwin has never before tested positive for banned substances.

Before losing to Lesnar, Carwin had demolished each of his first 12 opponents. In fact, none of them even survived the first round. Since joining the UFC, Carwin has earned four lightning-quick knockouts, two of which came over divisional mainstay Gabriel Gonzaga and former UFC champion Frank Mir, respectively.

Nelson, a former International Fight League heavyweight champion, finds himself on the rebound following a decision loss to Junior dos Santos in a title-eliminator bout at UFC 117 in August. He holds knockout victories over Carwin’s teammate, Brendan Schaub, and Dutch standout Stefan Struve since joining the promotion. Known for his bulbous belly, Nelson owns more than half of his wins by knockout and carries a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“I was really looking forward to fighting again, and, obviously, this is a very disappointing turn of events,” Carwin wrote. “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.”