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Kevin Iole is reporting that current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has pulled out of his UFC 106 title fight with Shane Carwin.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to Yahoo! Sports. White said Lesnar has been ill for more than three-and-a-half weeks and unable to train. With the bout at UFC 106 less than a month away, Lesnar was forced to postpone the title defense.

“He said he’s never been this sick in his life,” White said. “He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it.”

White said he does not believe Lesnar had the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.

White said he is not sure when the fight will be rescheduled or if Carwin will still fight on the card.

“We’re still working everything out,” he said.

It now appears that the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin light heavyweight fight will now become the main event of the fight card unless the UFC can pull something off in a short period of time.

** UPDATE **

According to Shane Carwin’s Twitter account, it looks like the fight has been pushed back to the UFC 108 New Year’s card on January 2nd.

Props: Heavy.com

Quoteworthy:

“I had some friends in the area who watched (UFC 100), and they were watching the UFC for the first time. And they were just appalled by what he had done. Especially what he did with Frank Mir, getting in his face after the victory? That’s just disrespectful. You’re supposed to have the utmost respect for anybody that goes in there to compete against you. Those are the first words you see when you walk into any dojo … [My first title defense] will be Cain Velasquez. I really wanted that fight, and Cain deserves a title shot. Cain deserves it, and a lot of people want to see it. I want to see it. So it would be Cain.”

The increasingly vocal Shane Carwin continues his retort in response to disparaging comments made by UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, who will face “The Engineer” at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 for the division title. Carwin has gone on record multiple times about his disdain for Lesnar’s contempt for the sport of mixed martial arts — specifically Brock’s trash talking. Apparently some MMA noobs who are chummy with Carwin had their feelings hurt by Lesnar’s July 11 tirade and now it’s become his personal vendetta and will exact revenge. While he’s already projecting a 2010 title defense against Cain Velasquez, there is a certain pasty-faced goliath waiting to send him back to the unaired preliminary card. Less than a month to go Maniacs … will this fight live up to the hype?

It looks as if “Christmas” will be coming one month earlier this year as Jacob Volkmann (9-0) will reportedly make his Octagon debut against Paulo Thiago (11-1)  at UFC 106 inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21, according to Terra Magazine.

Volkmann was last seen at Bellator Fighting Championships back in May, submitting Kevin Knabjian via brabo choke in the first round of the promotion’s sixth televised event.

In addition to Bellator, “Christmas” stayed busy by competing six times in 2008, including stints under the Max Fights and Xtreme Fighting Organization (XFO) banners.

Now Volkmann can thank Thiago Alves for this new opportunity, as “The Pitbull” got yanked from his fight with Paulo Thiago to rematch Jon Fitch — who was left high and dry after Ricardo Almeida was injured and forced to withdraw from the event.

The Constrictor Team product stunned the division with a TKO stoppage over Josh Koscheck at UFC 95: “Sanchez vs. Stevenson” in his Octagon debut last January. Fitch, friend and training partner of “Kos,” was looking for revenge at UFC 100, where he handed Thiago the first defeat of his career.

He now stands at an even 1-1 inside the Octagon.

UFC 106 will feature a main event heavyweight title bout between two absolute monsters as champion Brock Lesnar will look to defend his gold for the second time against his newest challenger, Shane Carwin.

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz is also set to make his return to the Octagon in a rematch with former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, after spending nearly a year and a half on the sidelines.

For more on the developing UFC 106 fight card and rumors click here.

…according to Fitch, who just released the news through several of his social networking accounts:

“My fight on Nov. 21st is off, Almeida blew out his knee, but I get a bigger better fight instead. Cant say who yet, but lots of you have been waiting for this fight a long time.”

When contacted by MMAmania.com, Fitch was unable to reveal his new opponent, but did say his fight would be shifted to a later date against “A huge opponent.”

Let the speculation begin.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on this breaking news as it becomes available.

Staunch welterweight veteran Brock Larson (26-3) will look to rebound from a surprising unanimous decision loss to Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 19 when he tangles with Brian Foster (12-4)  at UFC 106 inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21.

Larson defeated Mike Pyle via first round submission (arm triangle choke) at UFC 98: “Evans vs. Machida” back in May. It was the fifth consecutive win for the former number one WEC 170-pound contender.

The Minnesota Martial Arts Academy-trained fighter returned to the UFC after leaving for the WEC in late 2006, scoring a first round submission win (rear naked choke) over Jesse Sanders at UFC Fight Night 18 back in April.

Larson was expected to make some noise in the crowded welterweight division — until Mike Pierce stymied him for three rounds back on Sept. 16. No doubt “The other Brock” needs to get back on a winning track if he plans to get in line for a future shot at the gold.

Foster, also coming off a September loss, was supposed to challenge former Elite XC number one welterweight contender Paul Daley at UFC 103; however, “Semtex” got called up to the main card to slug it out with Martin Kampmann when Mike Swick went down with a head injury while training.

That gave Ricky Story the opportunity to get on board the Dallas card — and he certainly made the most of it, submitting Foster in the second round via arm-triangle choke.

Expect Foster to swing for the fences on Nov. 21 — history has not been kind to fighters who start their Octagon careers in an 0-2 hole.

UFC 106 will feature a main event heavyweight title bout between two absolute monsters as champion Brock Lesnar will look to defend his gold for the second time against his newest challenger, Shane Carwin.

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz is also set to make his return to the Octagon in a rematch with former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, after spending nearly a year and a half on the sidelines.

For more on the developing UFC 106 fight card and rumors click here.

On Tuesday, Yoshihiro Akiyama, along with current UFC fighters, Caol Uno and Yushin Okami, and WEC bantamweight, Takeya Mizugaki, attended the press conference for the release of the UFC’s “Undisputed” video game and the broadcast of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) series on Japanese TV channel, WOWWOW.

TUF kicked off the Japanese broadcast on Oct. 6 and the “Undisputed” is slated for Oct. 15 release in Japan.

As we reported earlier, the highlight of the presser came when Akiyama (13-1) confirmed the rumored bout with former Pride FC middleweight champion, Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1). The bout will take place at either UFC 110 on Feb. 6, 2010, in Las Vegas or at UFC 111, which is tentatively scheduled as the organization’s Australian debut in Sydney in late February.

In addition to the fight announcement, Caol Uno (25-12-4) revealed he will return to the Octagon to take on Fabricio “Morango” Camoes at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.

Uno made his unsuccessful return to the promotion at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany, against Spencer Fisher. Following his prior stint in UFC during which he fought Jens Pulver, Din Thomas, BJ Penn (twice), and Hermes Franca amongst others, he became a mainstay in K-1 Hero’s and DREAM, facing some of the best in the lightweight division.

Against Camoes, Uno looks to earn his first UFC victory in seven years that eluded him against Fisher.

Camoes (10-4), a BJJ black belt under Royler Gracie, is a veteran of the now defunct Meca promotion. He fought twice on Showtime under the ShoXC banner, earning victories over Sam Morgan and Joe Camacho. He last fought in May in Strikeforce Challenger Series and submitted Torrance Taylor via rear naked choke in the first round.

Yushin Okami (23-4), also present at the presser, will face Chael Sonnen at UFC 104 later this month at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Against Sonnen, he will return to the Octagon for the first time since earning a unanimous decision victory over Dean Lister at UFC 92 in December.

A welterweight matchup between Jon Fitch and Ricardo Almeida has been officially announced for UFC 106.

The fight will be the first for Almeida at welterweight, as he has spent his last four fights at middleweight since returning to the UFC. Almeida went 3-1 over that span with a victory against Kendall Grove in his last fight at UFC 101.

UFC 106 is currently scheduled for November 21 in Las Vegas, NV and will be headlined by the UFC heavyweight title fight between current champion Brock Lesnar and challenger Shane Carwin.

Jon Fitch continues to remain on of the top welterweight fighters in the world with only one loss on his record in the past seven years, with that loss coming in a title fight against current UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Fitch last fought at UFC 100 where he defeated Paulo Thiago via decision.

UFC 106 will also feature a light heavyweight fight between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin as well as the UFC debut of Antonio “Lil Nog” Nogueira against Luiz Cane.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today made several official additions to the line up for its next “big” pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is scheduled for the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21.

UFC 106 will feature a main event heavyweight title bout between two absolute monsters with division champion Brock Lesnar defending his gold for the second time against his newest challenger, Shane Carwin. Former light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will also hook ‘em up in a rematch in the co-featured fight of the night.

Here is the current UFC 106 fight card:

Main event:

265 lbs.: UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (4-1) vs. Shane Carwin (11-0)

Main card (Televised):

205 lbs.: Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) vs. Forrest Griffin (16-6)
170 lbs.: Jon Fitch (19-3) vs. Ricardo Almeida (11-3)
170 lbs.: Karo Parisyan (18-5) vs. Dustin Hazelett (12-4)

Under card (May not be broadcast):

170 lbs.: Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah
170 lbs.: Marcus Davis (16-5) vs. Ben Saunders (7-1-2)
205 lbs.: Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira*
185 lbs.: Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt
155 lbs.: George Sotiropoulos vs. Jason Dent

*Fight not yet officially confirmed by UFC.com.

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of UFC 106, beginning with the pay-per-view (PPV) telecast at 10 p.m. ET. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the under card action on fight night.

We’re still a few months away from showtime; therefore, feel free to share your thoughts and predictions on “Lesnar vs. Carwin” in the comments section below. And remember that MMAmania.com will be the spot for the latest news and event-related highlights before, during and after the event.

For everything you need to know about UFC 106 feel free to also hit up our event archive right here.

“I feel like I have paid my dues and so have a lot of fighters waiting for their shot. Brock is what they call a ‘Draw,’ he sells tickets, I am what they call a ‘Fighter,’ I fight who I am told to fight the way my coaches train me too. We are different people and we treat people different. To me this sport is as much about respect and honor as it is paychecks sound bites.”

– Shane Carwin sounds off in a recent interview with FiveOuncesofPain.com about his simmering feud with UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. The war of words kicked off when Carwin criticized Lesnar’s questionable post-fight antics after defeating Frank Mir earlier this year. Lesnar has responded in kind, saying Carwin “hasn’t fought anybody” and that he’s just a Division II wrestler. At this rate, the back-and-forth will more than likely come to a boil way before the pair is locked inside the Octagon together at UFC 106 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21. Will the fight live up to the hype?

With the recent news that Mark Coleman was off the UFC 106 fight card with an MCL injury, the hunt began for an opponent to face Tito Ortiz in his return to the Octagon (for the second time).

According to Kevin Iole, former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Giffin will take Coleman’s place and get a chance at avenging his loss to Ortiz back at UFC 59

Griffin most recently fought at UFC 101 this past August where he lost to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva via first round KO. Griffin has taken some heat for darting from the Octagon following the loss and his failure to speak about the fight in any serious manner.

Ortiz, of course, has not fought since losing via decision to current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 84. During his time off, Ortiz had spinal surgery to repair a back injury that had been bothering him for several years.

In my opinion, this is a dangerous fight for Griffin. Griffin was extremely close to winning his first matchup against Ortiz, and will desperately need a win in this fight as he is coming off back to back losses. Griffin is 4-4 in his last eight fights, and while he undoubtedly will always have a home in the UFC regardless of record, his fight status and reputation depend on an above 500 record.

If Ortiz truly is back to 100% and can put together some of his previous successes, he could easily defeat Griffin again and we could end up seeing more “run Forrest, run” clips following UFC 106.