UFC 106 Brock Lesnar Vs Shane Carwin: Preview and Prediction

UFC 106 on November 21 sets up a main event that should excite both hardcore and casual mixed martial arts (MMA) fans. Brock Lesnar defends his heavyweight title against Shane Carwin. Carwin was originally slated to fight Cain Velasquez at UFC 104. However, it seems like the UFC realized that pitting your top two heavyweight contenders is not a great idea if your heavyweight pool is not very stacked. Also, Carwin and Velasquez are both undefeated, which makes them intriguing matchups versus the dominant Lesnar.

Lesnar versus Carwin is very interesting because Lesnar is finally fighting someone his own size. You may think it is easy to find a skilled fighter with the same size as another fighter, but Lesnar has a unique body. He is the biggest of the heightweights and there are not many skilled fighters that tip the scales at 265 pounds, the top of the heavyweight limit. In fact, Lesnar cuts down from around 285-290 pounds so he's huge by fight day.

All of Lesnar's UFC fights have been against much smaller fighters, so many people felt that he was winning mostly through his size advantage rather than skill. Carwin is a little smaller but he walks around at 265-270, which is a lot bigger than Lesnar's previous opponents.

Both fighters were great wrestlers in college. However, Lesnar competed in NCAA Division I while Carwin wrestled in Division II.

Another intriguing facet to this matchup is Carwin's vocal opposition to Lesnar's antics following his demolition of Frank Mir in UFC 100. After that match, Lesnar made obscene gestures to the crowd and made fun of the a UFC sponsor. Carwin wrote on his personal blog, "The flipping off of the fans that just lined your pocket with millions of dollars is just LAME. He may be a champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a champion. The fans are why we do this Brock, this sport is not about fat paychecks and drama. It is about hard work and sacrifice for a shot to do what you did [on fight] night. It doesn't matter how much money you make if you can't earn your peers respect and the respect and love of the greatest sporting fans in the world."

For my prediction, I'm definitely leaning towards Lesnar. Carwin has done well in his fights, but he has faced much weaker competition than Lesnar. Also, even though Lesnar is bigger, he seems faster and more agile than Carwin. We've seen Carwin take a big punch and get knocked down whereas Lesnar has never been in any real trouble. Lesnar's only loss was a rookie mistake versus Frank Mir and he dominated their rematch.

Still, Carwin does have a puncher's chance because he has huge knockout power in his hands. If he can get a clean shot at Lesnar, he could stop him. Also, I think the fight will stay standing since both fighters are accomplished wrestlers. A standup war gives Carwin more chances to land his heavy right hand.