Shane Carwin Slowed by Flu During UFC 106 Preparations

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar wasn't the only UFC 106 headliner dealing with illness.

Earlier this week Lesnar notified UFC officials that a nearly month-long illness had forced him out of a Nov. 21 UFC 106 main event fight in Las Vegas.

His opponent, undefeated Shane Carwin, today said he, too, was sick with a "strain of the swine flu" but had never considered pulling out of the title fight.

"Last week was the first week that I actually started feeling better from a strain of the swine flu," he wrote in a blog entry on his Web site, www.shane-carwin.com. "I had lost over 15 pounds, something I could not afford to [lose], and had just pulled some muscles in my leg during training."

However, unlike Lesnar, Carwin said he hadn't considered backing out of the pay-per-view headliner.

"I would have never pulled out of the fight," he wrote.

With Lesnar vs Carwin now expected to take place in early 2010, UFC 106 will instead feature a main event (and rematch) between former UFC champions Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz, who were originally slated to meet in the night's co-main event. And as MMA Junkie reported earlier today, the UFC also bolstered the card with a bout between welterweight contenders Josh Koscheck and Anthony "Rumble" Johnson that will serve as the new UFC 106 co-main event.

As for the postponement, Carwin believes it'll work to his advantage.

"Fighting for the UFC belt is my path, and honestly, Brock coming down with his illness only gives me more time to be in that much better shape," he wrote. "It is a blessing if you want to know the truth."

Carwin earned his title shot after beating Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96: Jackson vs Jardine. Although his resume is impressive (every fight has ended via stoppage in two minutes and 11 seconds or less), Carwin earned the title shot partially because he spoke openly and criticized Brock Lesnar's antics at UFC 100: Lesnar vs Mir 2, according to UFC president Dana White. Soon after unifying the heavyweight titles and defeating Frank Mir at UFC 100: Lesnar vs Mir 2, Lesnar took verbal shots at the fans and a UFC sponsor alike.

Source: mmajunkie.com