“Shane Carwin is a man people would love to have a win over on their record,” Zelaznik said. “His performance against Brock Lesnar was so good that he only sits one or two fights away from a return to a title shot.
“Joe [Silva] has a tendency to match fighters who are coming off losses in order to give them their chance to turn things around. So how the Nelson vs. Dos Santos fight plays out may have a bearing on Shane Carwin.”
Shane Carwin To Face Loser Of Roy Nelson v. Junior dos Santos?
While far from a confirmation, Zelaznik does somewhat validate the thinking by most of how the heavyweight division shakes out going forward. The picture was always somewhat clear on how the structure was to work out starting back with the Carwin/Frank Mir bout.
Carwin/Mir - Winner (Carwin) faces Lesnar
Lesnar/Carwin - Winner faces Cain Velasquez who had been held out of action
Nelson/dos Santos - Winner faces the Lesnar/Velasquez winner, loser faces Carwin
And in this way the UFC has found a way with what amounts to five men at the top of the division to all be in the running to face each other while constructing compelling challenges for the champion and a logical path to rebuild the credibility of anyone who loses and place them right back into the title picture. And this is all with men like Frank Mir standing by and always available to step in and provide a compelling fight that can sell some tickets.
SB Nation will have more on the developing heavyweight picture as more details emerge.
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