Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson set for Ultimate Fighting Championship 125
The rumours have finally been laid to rest, as Shane Carwin will make his return to the Octagon on New Years Day in a bout with Roy “Big Country” Nelson. The fight will be the co-headlining
bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championships' UFC 125 event being held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 1 January.
Carwin has not competed in the UFC since his second round submission to Brock Lesnar at UFC 116 in July of this year. Carwin dominated the UFC heavyweight champion during the first round,
bloodying his face with heavy strikes, but he was unable to finish Lesnar. As the second round began Carwin was clearly out of gas and it didn’t take long for Lesnar to see an opening and submit Carwin via arm triangle choke.
Nelson’s last bout was against Junior dos Santos in August of this year at UFC 117. The winner of the bout was to be pencilled in as the next fighter to get a shot at the heavyweight title.
Dos Santos was declared the victor via unanimous decision and will face the winner of the upcoming Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez bout.
The match between Carwin and Nelson had been rumoured a few weeks ago, but when Nelson commented that his surgically repaired knee was still bothering him it appeared that this fight would
not take place in January.
For his part, in early October, Carwin seemed anxious to get back in the Octagon, posting on his Twitter page, “I expect to be on the January 1st card. I do not have an opponent
yet. Any takers? @UFC. I do not care who the opponent is.”
Rumours suggested Nelson, but he seemed to squash them by suggesting he hadn't heard anything about it.
Carwin will bring a record of 12-1 into the fight, while Nelson will enter the cage with a 15-5 record.
Both fighters are ranked in the top 20 on the USA Today consensus Mixed Martial Arts ranking. Carwin is ranked at number five, while Nelson comes in at 17.
Carwin vs. Nelson will join a UFC 124 fight card that has confirmed a welterweight title bout between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. The other confirmed match will be between
Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi.
At this point five other bouts are in the rumour stage.
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