In an earlier blog posted last week, Carwin announced that Lesnar was sick and out of their UFC 106 booking, which was slated for Nov. 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. (Carwin also claimed he had H1N1 but had opted not to pull out of the fight.)
The fight was then expected to be announced for UFC 108 on Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. However, a potential match-up between top contenders Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which MMAjunkie.com reported on Wednesday (as likely but not signed), is now the leading candidate to headline that show.
The scrapped main event was supposed to serve as Lesnar's first title defense since unifying the UFC's heavyweight belts with a UFC 100 victory over then-interim champ Frank Mir. Lesnar won the title with a November 2008 victory over then-champ Randy Couture.
Carwin, meanwhile, looked to claim his 12th straight win at UFC 106. The 34-year-old has yet to fight longer than two minutes and 11 seconds in any bout. He had posted swift UFC victories over Christian Wellisch, Neil Wain and Gabriel Gonzaga to earn the title shot.
There is currently no target date for the matchup, and Carwin told MMAjunkie.com he's remaining positive despite the financial strain caused by not fighting since March – and the challenger even offered a tip to aid Lesnar in his recovery.
"I am honored to be considered the contender, and I will wait for however long it takes to fight a healthy Brock Lesnar," Carwin said. "I would suggest that he visits a Max Muscle Sports Nutrition near him as they have been a key to keeping me healthy and moving forward.
"I am thankful to my fans and my sponsors at Beaver Buzz Energy, Max Muscle, PerformanceMMA and Warrior Wear who have supported me and stood by my side. The financial and emotional support they provide me and my family has helped me more then they may ever know."
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