Lesnar-Carwin to lead to bigger things for heavyweights

UFC 100 was meant to herald the dawn of the heavyweights. After years of struggling to amass a heavyweight division worthy of the name Dana White finally had in world champion Brock Lesnar his Mike Tyson. Lesnar’s battle to first defeat and then recover from diverticulitis postponed this glittering future but as we approach UFC 116 we can clearly see that the "biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history" is just the beginning. For whoever wins on Saturday, exciting Hispanic heavyweight Cain Velasquez lies in wait.

While not quite as large as either Carwin or Lesnar, Velasquez is very much in the same mold, combing size and speed in one irresistible package. His last three fights have seen him smother renowned kickboxer Cheick Kongo with dominant wrestling, destroy Ben Rothwell with remorseless ground and pound and demolish Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria in less than three minutes with devastating kickboxing.

A Carwin-Velasquez fight would be the clash of undefeated heavyweight KO artists while the quietly imposing Velasquez would play off well against the brash Brock Lesnar.

Velasquez’s title challenge won’t be the only heavyweight blockbuster in the second half of 2010. At UFC 117 Junior Dos Santos will face TUF ‘10 winner Roy Nelson in a contender eliminator fight. Dos Santos has been on absolute tear in the UFC, defeating the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Cro Cop and Gabriel Gonzaga in a five-fight winning streak that is more impressive than the UFC records of either Carwin or Velasquez.

Despite being trained by the Nogueria brothers, Dos Santos leads with his striking, dismantling opponents with a brutalizing mixture of fast hands and heavy kicks. He already has the record to be a credible world title challenger and a sixth UFC victory would secure him a world title shot in early 2011.

Roy Nelson is looking to dispel any thoughts that he is merely an entertaining midlevel attraction. Despite being 2-2 in his last four fights, strong performances during "The Ultimate Fighter" series would make him a popular if incongruous challenger for the world title. Having dominated against Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve, an upset victory against Dos Santos would propel him into title contention.

Away from the world title scene former world champion Frank Mir is once again looking to rebuild his career after being pulverized by Shane Carwin at UFC 111. If Brock Lesnar loses Saturday then the path will be clear for Mir-Lesnar III, which even as a nontitle fight would be one of the biggest fights in UFC history.

Should results deny Mir the opportunity to settle the score with Lesnar then a rematch with Nogueria would grab the attention of fight fans, especially given the controversy surrounding Nogueria’s condition going into their first fight. The fall may also see the retirement of legendary heavyweight striker Cro Cop with rumors that he will fight for the last time when the UFC makes its return to Germany in November.

Whoever leaves UFC 116 as the world heavyweight champion will reign over the most stacked heavyweight division in UFC history, filling the vacuum left by the collapse of the American heavyweight boxing scene.

Lesnar-Carwin is not only the biggest heavyweight fight in UFC history but the biggest all-American heavyweight fight since Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield II. And this is just the beginning, with 2010 promising much more top-quality action from the UFC’s heavyweight division.