The ink is barely dry on the bottom line of the paper that would unify the UFC Heavyweight Title. Now it seems the unification will have to wait until Interim Champion Frank Mir (12-3) can recover from injury.
The rematch between Mir and UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (3-1) was announced by the UFC earlier in the week, but today MMAweekly.com is reporting that sources indicate a knee injury will prevent Mir from competing in the UFC 98 main event slated for May 23.
Mir’s injury poses a curious possibility. No word has yet been released on whether or not Lesnar will still defend his title in the UFC 98 main event against a new opponent or if the match will be scrapped altogether.
If number nine ranked Gabriel Gonzaga (10-3) can get past Shane Carwin (10-0) Saturday night at UFC 96, common sense would indicate he is next in line for a title shot. If Gonzaga can come out of that fight with a victory and injury free, we could very well possibly see Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brock Lensar for the UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 98.
On the other hand, if Shane Carwin were to defeat Gabriel Gonzaga on March 7, could he really get a heavyweight title shot in the UFC after only three fights? Crazier things have happened that is for sure.
Although Carwin is not yet in the top ten and has not defeated anyone in the top ten, neither had Brock Lesnar when he got the title shot against Couture. The problem is, there are still so few people who know who Shane Carwin is, whereas Brock Lesnar came in with huge pay per view power behind him.
Whether it is Carwin or Gonzaga who gets a shot at Lesnar, they both sound very intriguing. The main thing is, the winner needs to remain injury free Saturday night if they want the possibility of getting on that UFC 98 card in May.
The bout between Gonzaga and Carwin suddenly has taken on whole new meaning; a match-up which was already highly anticipated and important has become absolutely critical. The winner of this fight could literally find their self ten weeks away from stepping into the Octagon for a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title. This is going to get fun.
by: Jack Bratcher / Ted Smith
Frank Mir really still has the best shot at Lesnar.