UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin has had to withdraw from his fight with Roy Nelson at the TUF 16 Finale on December 15th due to a knee injury.
The fight between the two TUF 16 coaches had been intended as the headliner for the Las Vegas show, but now UFC officials are scrambling to come up with a suitable replacement for Nelson.
Word that Carwin had injured his knee first emerged at the end of September and the fighter himself confirmed it, but had insisted that he would still be fit to compete against Nelson who he’s developed a rivalry with during the course of the reality show.
In an article on this site at the time I questioned whether Carwin would really be fit in time and suggested that if he did pull out then it could be a bad omen for his career, and I stick by that.
Carwin will turn 38 in January and due to a series of injuries and long recovery periods he’s now going to have fought just once in the past two years. It’s a great shame as he possesses some of the heaviest hands I’ve ever witnessed in the Octagon, but if this latest injury produces another lengthy setback then perhaps he has to seriously consider hanging up his gloves.
