Former No. 1 heavyweight contender Shane Carwin has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 125 bout vs. Roy (Big Country) Nelson.
A source has informed me that Carwin has suffered a back injury that will impact his training for the Jan. 1, 2011, bout in Las Vegas, and that “it is not one that he can simply deal with” while prepping for the fight.
“I had an MRI yesterday and I have some damage that may really require surgery,” Carwin posted on his website shane-carwin.com. “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.”
Both Carwin (12-1) and Nelson (15-5) are looking to rebound from disappointing losses in their last fights, with Carwin falling short vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 116 in July, while Nelson lost a unanimous judges’ decision at UFC 117 in a valiant effort vs. current No. 1 contender, Junior dos Santos.
The timing could not be worse for the Denver native, as a victory over Nelson would have likely put him to the front of the line for another crack at the heavyweight title, which is now held by Cain Velasquez.
“The good news is the doctors said I can work on my cardio (they must have seen my last fight lol) with this injury,” Carwin added. “This is a hard decision but the right one … No one wants to get me back to winning more than me. I just need to be healthy to do it.”
This past weekend in Anaheim, Velasquez defeated Lesnar to become the first ever Mexican-American heavyweight champion in combats sports.
