Shane Carwin vs. Cain Velasquez Likely for UFC 104
Heavyweight contenders Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez are now expected to square off at UFC 104 on October 24 in Los Angeles.
“Looks like I’ll be fighting October 24 in LA,” wrote Carwin on Twitter. “Excited to know. No bout agreement yet. Looks like Cain and I if all goes.”
The pair of up-and-coming heavyweights were originally rumored to co-headline UFC 103 on September 26 in Dallas alongside Mike Swick vs. Matt Hughes, but neither bout materialized for the card with Carwin-Velasquez now pushed back to UFC 104 and Swick booked to fight Martin Kampmann at the September event.
The latest moves leave UFC 103 without a main event, fueling speculation the Chuck Liddell could return to the Octagon for at least one more bout to headline the pay-per-view event, possibly against Rich Franklin.
A potential bout between Carwin and Velasquez began to be discussed after Velasquez’s UFC 99 victory over Cheick Kongo in June, which cemented his status as a contender for the heavyweight title much like Carwin did with a UFC 96 win over Gabriel Gonzaga. Both Velasquez (6-0) and Carwin (11-0) are undefeated and in line for a title shot, though each needs one more victory over top competition before fighting for the belt.
Though not yet officially announced, UFC 104 is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between title-holder Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
For the latest UFC 103 and UFC 104 rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.
[Pictured: Shane Carwin]
Tags: Martin Kampmann, shane carwin
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Machida vs. Shougun already makes me excited as hell, but adding Carwin vs. Velasquez would be even more cool.
Carwin vs. Velasquez is interestin on many levels. Carwin unlike Kongo, has good stand-up AND good wrestling. I was really impressed in his win over Gonzaga which i feel was more impressive than Velasques’s win over Kongo. Carwin like Velasquez got rocked by Gonzaga’s first two punches which were relly good shots, then he was taken down by Gonzaga who is a BJJ black belt, Carwin was getting beat up then managed to get up out of Gonzaga’s control which was impressive in itseld, but then threw one OFF BALANCE punch that completely dropped Gonzaga. That was really impressive and highlighted Carwins overall game. Kongo has ZERO ground game so the only thing impressive about Velasquez is win was his ability to take those big punches from Kongo because Kongo took the fight on three weeks notice which is nothing, not enough time to train at all. Now if Velasquez tries to take Carwin down he problably won’t be able to control Carwin like he did Kongo, however if Carwin takes Velasquez down then we’ll see how good Velasquez is off his back, Carwin already showed that his ground game is good enough to whether the storm and if Carwin can avoid the takewown i’m not quite sure that Velasquez will survive Carwins bombs. Carwin by tko or ko
Fixed it for you Marvel.
cool, thanks Justin, i got a bit confused at first and thought that i pressed too many keys at the same time
MK4, not that I dispute anyone’s right to get psyched for a quality title bout, like Machida-Rua most certainly will be, but I’m not really sure how good a fight it’s actually going to be.
Machida tends to make everyone look stupid in the cage, and although Rua is considered a world-class 205er, I haven’t really seen him exhibit any skills that makes me think he’ll fare any better against Machida than his previous opponents have. No one seems to get within anything close to range for a takedown, and everyone seems to ALMOST hit Machida, and right when they find the range the Dragon slays them.
When they step into the cage, I’m thinking this will be a relatively easy win for Machida, unless Shogun busts something out never seen before.
i honestly don’t know why people are quick to count out Shogun. He’s more than able to beat Machida AND who has Machida beat to make everyone think he’s so amazing? He beat Ortiz, but in that fight he mostly ran away and didn’t really fight. Thiago Silva who is not a top 5 205-er and hadn’t really faced top competition basically walked up to Machida with his hands down and said “knock me out”. His win over Evans was a good win but Evans is not a striker. Evans basically gave Machida the belt if you ask me. Machida’s style is all his own, he’s very fast and has deceiving punching power, he has great leg kicks and a decent ground game…BUT so does Mauricio Rua. Don’t be too surprised if SHogun manages to come out on top.
But jcohl, i do understand why you would see this being an easy win for Machida given Shoguns recent performances.
Dont get Marvel started on the whole Machida thing Jcohl. Trust me.
Anyways I think this fight “could be a bit more competetive than alot of people think it will because Shogun is gradually improving from waht we all saw back in February. But right now he is just to slow, to slopy, and doesnt hit hard enough to hang with the Dragon. If someone is going to beat Lyoto guys(besides Anderson casue that fight wont happen)is Rampage. Cause he can take the opening shot from Machida or slip it like he does equally well and land a devastating counter hook or uppercut.
haha carls, dude that’s funny, you make me look like a bad guy dude.
I try
subsequently kongo also has zero stand game
my below comment was ment for up here
Glad to see this match made, but not so glad to see it booked for UFC 104. This almost certainly means that the UFC is going ahead with the rumored Liddell-Franklin bout for UFC 103, which unless I’m very wrong is a fight that not too many people were calling for or wanting to see.
Velsaquez and Carwin is most definitely the fight to see which young lion is going to run the HW contender pride. The winner almost certainly will get some sort of opportunity of contention, most likely a match with either the winner or the loser of the Mir-Lesnar fight.
Some might say its too soon to talk about contention for either of these guys, but as it was pointed out to me when I commented on Lesnar’s questionable contender status when he fought Couture, the HW ranks are thin, and it doesn’t take much to get a shot at the belt.
Should be a good fight, in which I like Carwin, probably by some sort of second round g-n-p TKO.
In terms of the 103 fallout, I can understand Dana White would like to send the Iceman out right. After all, they’ve had a long personal and professional relationship, and for a long time the Iceman was the sport’s big draw. Unfortunately time and the sport’s near-constant evolution have sort of passed Liddell by, and I don’t see the sense of or dignity in him taking a shellacking from a frustrated Rich Franklin.
Franklin is dealing with his own ranking issues, and I don’t want to see him trying to convince the world that he’s a top 5 LHW by throwing Liddell a beating or seriously injuring a surefire Hall of Famer.
Natually all the Iceman-iacs out there would like to see Chuck KTFO one last guy, but IMO its pretty unlikely that guy will be Franklin, who is younger, faster, and will in all likelihood have superior cardio.
Of course Liddell is Liddell, and holds the quintessential “puncher’s chance”, but unless the Iceman has broken away from his customary Pit training and tried to broaden his skill-set, he’s in for another disappointing night, are as his fans.
I wish both fighters luck, hope that Liddell avoids serious injury, and go with Franklin [if the fight actually happens] by third round T/KO.
from a bussines point of veiw this is stupid, the ufc should try to raise both of these fighters as looking top 5 in the world material and if they fight only one will look brilliant, most people would say carwin but i’m not sure about that
Thats what I said on the report of these two fighting that ran a few weeks ago. I agree 100%. Don’t want the HW div of 2 years ago.
Have you two seen the “up and coming” fighters in the HW division? o and lets not forget the season 10 of TUF is a HW competition… Big Country in the division isn’t too shabby and well lets see what happens with Kevin Ferguson and others… So rightnow for these two to make their move for the title and the loser to be “ok” and still be a force this is a perfect time for these two to fight….. when it comes to “business” guys its the “big picture” not just whats infront of your face, you have to be steps ahead of your comp to be successful, so in all honesty this is a rather good BUSINESS decision, but hey I wouldn’t know anything about that stuff at all……..
Your right FR this is a perfect time for them to fight. They need to set up another contender for the HW belt other than Nog, Couture, and Fedor. Cause all of those guys are a little dicey right now. Randy could retire at any moment, Nog looks old and slow, and nobody knows what the he11 Fedor wants to do. People have been talking about Carwin fighting Brock ever since he came to the UFC, and what better way to set that that up than to have him beat(and probably)KO an undefeated rising star like Velasquez.
The fact that he has a win over Kongo is big in both the casual fans eyes and everyone elses. So if he takes out this kid it would be a no brainer to have him right in line for a title shot.
The UFC is probablt banking on Carwin right now knowing that this is his time to shine. Cain is still fairly young at 27 and if he loses he can still come back hes a young fighter. One loss isnt going to derail his career.
ya, were right
nope
YA!
PORQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE????????
This was the fight i was looking forward to see live…
I will spit on joe silva if i see him in dallas. liddell vs franklinis a garbage headline.
wanna know why people in texas don’t sell out the ufc events? quit putting up crap fights joe silva.
once again.. garbage card…
AGREED..CHUCK VS. FRANKLIN IS OK BUT NOT MAIN EVENT…
Dont be surprised if that fight happens that it is the main event.
Easy win for Carwin. Cain has no power. 1ST RD KO
jcohl if you think shogun will not be able to give machida a tough fight i beg you to google shogun’s pride fights, mainly his destruction of rampage. yes shogun hasnt looked impressive in the ufc, but not making excuses for him, he was coming off of injuries in the forrest fight, was not in shape for the coleman fight due to the injury. against chuck he looked really light on his feet and his hands looked really fast, i know that was a short fight but he hadnt looked that good in any other fights in the ufc. if shogun’s cardio is 100% then machida is in danger. I know i said machida looks unbeatable, but if and this is a big if, shogun is 90-100% machida is in big trouble. remember shogun is only 27, he is not even in his prime yet, and he was considered the best 205er in the world two years ago.
bigchris 2328, I did as you asked and caught some of Shogun’s “greatest hits”.
Sorry, bad joke there.
Thanks for the suggestion. It really allowed me to see some of the Shogun his supporters here at the forum are often talking about, and better understand how and why you think he’ll press Machida during their bout.
I’ll admit that Shogun looks very impressive IN THE RING, but I’m wondering how and when he’ll make the adjustment to the cage. I understand he’s been slowed by injuries and rusty from prolonged recovery time, but making the case against an aging and non-evolving Chuck Liddell isn’t convincing me that he’s a terror at 205.
I do feel bad that I may have posted disrespectfully against Shogun, and I do think that he’s a quality fighter, I’m just not sold that he’ll return to top form in the caged environment of the UFC. Apologies to his supporters here at the forum if it seemed like I was fighter-bashing. It was unintentional and I was just really expressing my high regard for Machida, as opposed to expressing disregard for Shogun.
Shogun also needs to find a legal weapon as devastating and effective as his patented “soccer kick and/or stomp to the head of a downed opponent” IMO in order to defeat someone like Machida.
I recently had confirmed for me that Machida hasn’t lost a round, been seriously rocked or knocked down, and is barely familiar with the receiving end of a throw or takedown in the cage. That being said, in order to provide Machida an order of competition he’s yet to experience in the UFC, a far different and superior Shogun needs to show up on fight night then the one I’ve seen thru online clips, and DEFINITELY the UFC-version of Shogun.
Admittedly those online clips make Shogun look like a world-beater, and I think it will be interesting if and when Machida is actually tested.
Will it be by Shogun?
I’m still betting not, but time will tell…
totally agree with you BigChris . Shogun does have the stuff to beat machida and he will be 110% coming in . The thing with shogun that differs from rashad and the others is that he can be patient enough to get machida to move first . Then here come the knees ,elbows and kicks in harmonious bunches .Not saying this is a cake walk for him ….. probably will be a great showdown for sure . But I cant wait none the less .
I hope one way or another Rampage and Shogun meat up again. Only if Shogun regains his former self though. He’s such an addition to 205 if he can get back in shape and 100%
i think alot of shoguns strategy revolved around kicking people in the head while they were down, thats partly why he hasnt looked good in ufc
Oct 24th in LA well lets see if I can get to this one, I leave for Vegas Sunday morning (25th) sooo hey whynot…
The card is starting to come together and I think that Shane will win this particular matchup (t)ko in the 3rd minute of the 1st round
T3, man sorry to take this fight from your Texas card… Your card will be ok, o and to spit on Joe Silva probably not the best way to stay and watch the show but I can get your frustration
you know nobody has ever got past half a minute with carwin
sorry half a round
Yes the furthest he has ever been as far as depth in a fight is 2minutes 11 seconds, well In the 3rd minute I believe that he will win, do the math and perhaps from 121 seconds on is considered the 3rd minute? just saying……..
i’m just saying, dont sh*t urself dude
I’m ok trust me
cool.
lol not like i would miss much
i cant seem to think how cain can win this fight…but i think my dream fight between brock and shane could happen soon……….it would be like to freight trains ramming into each other at unimaginable speeds
Ya i realy dont see Cain winning this fight either. He doesnt wanna stand with him and I dont hink he wants to get cought shooting in to often. Plus Shane is a good wrestler and will stuff alot of shots and end up tiring Cain out being on top of him. If I was Cain I would have one gameplan and that would be to clinch with Shane the entire first round. then take him to the second, somewhere hes never been and do some more of the same then look for the takedown late in the round to steal or solidify it. Then focus on taking down a tired Carwin as often as possible in the third. Cain has outstanding cardio for a HW and he should use that to his advantage. Shanes might be just as good but its atleast something we dont know about him. And I think thats where you can get him.
i have no idea what i would do if i was cain but he’s had a good gameplan in every one of his fights so far i think he’ll think up something here
Not that im Greg Jackson, but I feel that the guy is in serious trouble if he does anything besides what I laid out. Atleast thats how it looks on paper.
well cain really shouldnt be fighting at HW anyway, has nobody else noticed that i feel like i’m taking crazy pills. he’s 6”1 average LHW height is 6”2.
A friend of mine made a good point when we were arguing about if he could make 205. I was saying he could but realized that the guy is real just natuarally thick and big boned. Also if hes in that good of shape(hence the kongo fight) and trains with the AKA boys and keeps up with them then hes probably allready as small as he can get. I do feel that he could suck the weight hit the saunas ect. But he might be pretty dried out. If he CAN do it though he definately should.
Cain weighed in a pound or two more than Kongo, I doubt he can make 205.
Carwin lives and trains in Denver, if I remember correctly. That automatically gives him a bit of a cardio advantage over his opponents.
i cant see how that works either because shane being a greg jackson fighter will be in great condition….and he’s to big and strong…to be out wrestled by cain and his standup is something no heavyweight in the world can stand up too…..i mean he ko’d gonzaga who has a pretty good chin with a one inch punch pretty much…..cain could try to clinch with carwin but carwin can ko you from clinching distance too we saw that when he fought gonzaga
u know he did take alot of guys down because they were beating him on standup including 5”10 neil wane who is one of the most unfortunate shapes i’ve ever seen. before his gonzaga fight all he was doing was backing up his wrestleing.
What would you do if you were Cain?
i think the only thing he could do is try to put carwin on his back, from there he wouldnt be much good but since he’s probably at least as good wrestler that wouldnt be easy, its a very bad matchup for cain
he could train pure standup and use his speed to outstrike carwin but if carwin connected with even a clinch strike cain would be out. and if he did managed to out strike him carwin could take him down and than he’d be in a bad way.
if cain does manaage to win…..ill be a believer in him but i just cant imagine him beating carwin
cant want. machida will own, carwin will knock him out round 2. at least cain will make a record of going the farthest with him. they should add GG vs. kongo. but GG is already going to fight someone
It isn’t who Machida beats it’s how he beats them. He has exceptional stats far and above any other UFC fighters. That being said I agree that Shogun should not be counted out because he has a tendency to throw strikes from some very strange places and is one of those fighters that is easily able to pickup any fighters particular weakness during a fight and adapt on the fly.
If anyone is going to hit Machida and test that chin Shogun is a good choice.
machida is very hard to hit.
but so is shogun.
both have diverse striking and ground..
power ad goes to shogun.
machida has the advantage of more video of his opponent to study.
shogun we have seen his a great chin.
machida ??
shogun has the leg kicks that make you wince,although they haven’t been used in every fight to my recollection it might be a key strategy against a machida a master of being light on the feet.
++++ conditioning , cardio is up for grabs gentlemen..
i have to hope this won’t be a deciding factor – not that forrest/shogun wasn’t great – just that it could have been greater if shogun didn’t gas
i’d have to pick carwin based on his chin , power. but these are relatively new fighters…..