Brock Lesnar will not be defending his UFC Heavyweight Title against Shane Carwin in the UFC 106 main event on Nov. 21. Instead, former light heavyweight champions Forrest Griffin and a returning Tito Ortiz will collide in a headlining rematch.
UFC reports indicate Lesnar has been ill for nearly a month and has not been able to train. Carwin, via Twitter even mentioned the possibility of the champ having swine flu. However, UFC President Dana White has indicated he does not believe Lesnar has the H1N1 virus.
It looks like the Lesnar vs. Carwin fight will be rescheduled for some time early 2010. Jan. 2 has been mentioned as a possible date, which if the case, would put the fight as the headliner for UFC 108.
Griffin and Ortiz first fought at UFC 59 in April 2006. Griffin lost a very close split decision, and the fight marked his first loss within the UFC since he defeated Stephan Bonnar a year earlier to become the original Ultimate Fighter.
Griffin has dropped his last two bouts via knockout; first losing his light heavyweight title to Rashad Evans at UFC 92 and then to Anderson Silva at UFC 101.
Ortiz has also lost two in a row, with a draw thrown in-between. He lost to Chuck Liddell at UFC 66 via TKO, went to a draw with Rashad Evans at UFC 73, then lost most recently to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 via unanimous decision.
Taking the place of Lesnar and Carwin as the UFC 106 main event, Ortiz and Griffin have some VERY big shoes to fill. If both fighters come in shape and ready to perform, they should have no problem filling the bill.