As Lesnar Looms, Carwin Confident in Power

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Shane Carwin believes in his power, and with good reason. Twelve fights into his professional mixed martial arts career, not one opponent has withstood it.

Carwin will lock horns with returning titleholder Brock Lesnar in an anticipated unification bout at UFC 116 “Lesnar vs. Carwin” on July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. He does not think anyone on the UFC roster -- Lesnar included -- can survive the heavy toll his punches exact.

“If I touch anybody with my hands,” Carwin said during a Tuesday teleconference, “I can knock him out. These are four-once gloves. Your margin for error is pretty small, especially being heavyweights.”

Anchored at the Grudge Training Center in Colorado, Carwin and his exploits are well-documented. The 35-year-old has never seen the second round and has finished five opponents in less than a minute. His three-minute-and-forty-eight-second outing against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir -- which ended in a knockout at UFC 111 in March -- was his longest to date.

“I’ve got a never-quit attitude,” Carwin said. “This is what I love to do. I’m passionate about it. When I get in there, I want to fight. That’s how I look at it.”

In Lesnar, he faces an uphill climb. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound South Dakota native was a four-time collegiate All-American wrestler at the University of Minnesota, where he won a national championship as a heavyweight in 2000. He transitioned successfully to MMA in 2007 and will carry a three-fight winning streak into the UFC 116 headliner. However, Lesnar has not competed in nearly a year, as he stared down a life-threatening intestinal disorder in late 2009.

“Brock’s a big, talented, athletic heavyweight,” Carwin said. “Those are rare to find. Those are the ones that push you to your limit.”

Most expect Lesnar to aim for early takedowns in an effort to avoid any extended stand-up exchanges with the heavy-handed Carwin. Gabriel Gonzaga put Carwin on his back briefly at UFC 96, only to meet his demise on the end of a brutal straight right hand.

“I can see this fight taking place everywhere,” Carwin said. “I’m prepared in all areas. I have a lot of areas where I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface. I can become that much better of a fighter.”

Carwin claims he did not enlist anyone to specifically mimic Lesnar during his training camp, choosing instead to rely on his training partners at Grudge and its sister gym, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M. Dynamic UFC light heavyweight contender Jon Jones and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 finalist Brendan Schaub were among them.

“I just rely on a team of guys that I have around me,” Carwin said. “I trust in them and their ability. When you go with smaller guys, they bring speed and footwork, and you try to match that as a heavyweight.”

A little less than two weeks out from his showdown with Lesnar, Carwin declared himself ready to meet the formidable test that awaits him.

“Every fight’s your biggest fight,” he said. “This is definitely the biggest fight of my career, but I don’t try to approach it any different. I think it’s a great time [for me to fight Lesnar]. It’s a challenge I look forward to.”