Lesnar-Carwin Postponed

The UFC’s top pay-per-view attraction, Brock Lesnar, pulled out of the UFC 106 main event. The heavyweight champion bowed out of his Nov. 21 title defense against Shane Carwin due to flu symptoms that prevented him from training sufficiently. The Wrestling Observer, talking to a manager of the champion, reported Lesnar’s been bothered by upper respiratory issues, a fever and extreme fatigue. Carwin revealed after the announcement that he too was battling the flu -- which caused him to lose 15 pounds -- in preparation for the fight. Television ads for the event began airing this week promoting Lesnar vs. Carwin.

Carwin said he had signed a bout agreement to face Lesnar at UFC 108 on Jan. 2. UFC President Dana White told Yahoo! Sports that Lesnar called him Monday to pull out and that the former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar was not sure if he would be ready to go in January. Just last week, UFC 108 was not thought to have a solid main event, but with Lesnar-Carwin and the Lyoto Machida-Mauricio Rua rematch possible, it could turn into the most stacked UFC lineup in recent memory. The originally planned Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort UFC 108 main event has yet to be locked down and may be moved.

The UFC 106 change means the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin rematch, the product of an injury pullout by Mark Coleman, shifts into the main event position. The UFC added a welterweight scrap between Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson to boost the bill. The Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah fight will now take place on the main card.

UFC 106 was not the only card disrupted by ailments. Thiago Alves, who was set to face Jon Fitch in a high-stakes welterweight bout at UFC 107 in December, pulled out of the fight due to a knee injury. Alves was the second consecutive opponent for Fitch to fall through, as he was set to face an injured Ricardo Almeida at UFC 106.