Shane Carwin Cleared for UFC Return; Ready to be a Shark Instead of Swimming with Them

Former UFC heavyweight title contender Shane Carwin is back, ready to be a shark instead of just swimming with them.

“I informed UFC Matchmaker (Joe Silva) that I would like to fight in early fall 2012,” Carwin wrote in a recent post on his website.

It’s been a year since Carwin set foot in the Octagon. He’s been on the sidelines recovering from surgery to deal with the lingering effects of injuries he sustained as a collegiate football player.

“I have spent my entire career dealing with injuries sustained through football,” said Carwin. “(But now) I am 100 percent and I feel like a younger version of my former self.”

His former self rocketed to a 12-0 record before ever tasting defeat. During that 12-0 run, Carwin never went outside of the first round, finishing fighters like Gabe Gonzaga and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir along the way.

Not only is Carwin back and ready to return to the Octagon, rejuvenated, he wants to fight more frequently as well. Having fought just six times in his four-year UFC tenure, Carwin “would like to be able to fight every three or four months.”

Despite the down time, Carwin has been anything but down.

“My entire career is shorter then some Pride Fights,” he quipped. “I have somehow managed to contend for the UFC heavyweight title with less than an hour of actual fighting. On one hand that is amazing, on the other, it’s kind of scary to think I am facing seasoned veterans with limited experience. Talk about swimming with the sharks.”

So Carwin has been hard at work during his year “off,” shoring up his skill set. As he noted, when a fighter gets into the mix of training for the next big fight, he gets so focused on the opponent at hand there isn’t much time to work on rounding out his skills.

Having had the time to do that. Carwin is ready to come back and put on display what he’s learned, offering a warning for the UFC heavyweight division.

“The UFC should look into adding some padding in the gloves because I plan on crushing my opponents.”

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