Shane Carwin Discusses Injuries and Post Fight Reaction Following UFC 131

By the 3rd round of his UFC 131 main event fight against Junior Dos Santos, former interim champion Shane Carwin had little to no vision in his eye, but he surely wasn’t lacking heart.

The powerful Colorado fighter suffered a broken nose and had blood in his eyes, but still felt in his bones that if he landed one good shot, he could put Dos Santos away and still win the fight.

“After the second round I knew I was in trouble. My nose made it impossible to breathe, my eyes were full of blood and Junior was still coming at me. When the ref stopped the fight in the third, I thought it was over. When the doctor came in the octagon I knew it was going to be up to me to sell them on letting me continue. I knew I was in deep trouble but I also knew that all I needed was one clean shot. I wanted to keep myself in the fight. I wasn’t able to see but I said I could and we continued,” Carwin wrote on his personal blog on Monday.

“When the final bell rang there was no question in my mind who won the fight. I was pretty out of it and needed some medical care. The adrenaline was leaving my body and the pain was coming on pretty fast.”

According to Carwin’s manager Jason Genet of Ingrained Media speaking to MMAWeekly.com on Monday, the former champion likely suffered a broken nose and possible a fractured cheek bone or orbital as well, but won’t know for sure for a few days because the swelling on his face is too much to allow an accurate CT scan to take place.

Regardless of the injuries, Carwin showed tremendous heart and determination to stick in the fight with Dos Santos for all three rounds, fighting with little vision or even the clear ability to breathe.

Carwin has flown home to Colorado where he’ll rest and recover and wait for the final word from his doctors as to the severity of his injuries.

Down but never out, Carwin promised to get back in the cage and compete again as he looks to work his way back to the top of the heavyweight division.

“My heart can’t be questioned, I think I showed that I have the cardio to fight at this level and I just need to work on my technique. Yes I can knock just about anybody out but I have to continue my quest to become the best fighter in my division,” Carwin said.

“Being in wars like I was in last night are important test for your career and I am confident I belong in the cage with the best fighters in the world. I need to keep working hard on my technique and testing myself. There are no easy fights at this level, no gimmes. I have to get my nose fixed and once the swelling goes down I need to have my cheek looked at as it may be broken. I can’t wait to heal and get back into the gym and begin working on my game.”

Once Carwin’s medical status is updated it will be made more clear how long he’ll be out of action and then able to return to training and prepare for a return to the UFC.

Damon Martin is the lead staff writer and radio host for MMAWeekly.com.
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