Roster for ‘Lesnar vs. Dos Santos’ Nears Completion

Former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin will meet promotional newcomer Jon Olav Einemo in a featured matchup at UFC 131 “Lesnar vs. Dos Santos” on June 11 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Eleven fights are now official for the event, which will air live on pay-per-view.

Carwin (Pictured) last appeared at UFC 116 in July, when he succumbed to a second-round arm-triangle choke from former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Brock Lesnar at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 36-year-old Greeley, Colo., native underwent surgery to repair damage to the C5, C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck in November. A Grudge Training Center representative, the once-beaten Carwin sports 12 first-round finishes on his resume, including 22-, 29-, 31-, 44-, 49- and 69-second wins. He owns notable victories against former champion Frank Mir and one-time title contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Carwin was an NCAA wrestling champion at the Div. II level.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Einemo has not competed in MMA in more than four years, having last fought under the 2 Hot 2 Handle banner in November 2006, when he submitted James Thompson with a first-round armbar at the Ahoy Sport Palace in Rotterdam, Holland. The 36-year-old Norwegian was a gold medalist at the 2003 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships and remains the only man to defeat Roger Gracie in the prestigious tournament. Based at Golden Glory, Einemo has secured five of his six career MMA victories by submission.

A heavyweight title eliminator pairing Lesnar with Brazilian knockout artist Junior dos Santos will headline UFC 131. The event will also feature a lightweight duel pairing “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 6 winner Mac Danzig with WEC import Donald Cerrone, a middleweight battle pitting former title contender Demian Maia against 2001 NCAA wrestling champion Mark Munoz and a featherweight tilt matching Kenny Florian with the world-ranked Diego Nunes.

UFC 131 “Lesnar vs. Dos Santos”
Saturday, June 11
Rogers Arena,
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Brock Lesnar vs. Junior dos Santos
Shane Carwin vs. Jon Olav Einemo
Mac Danzig vs. Donald Cerrone
Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards
Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya
Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Anthony Perosh
Joey Beltran vs. Dave Herman
Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins
* Nick Ring vs. James Head

* Not Official