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"I was getting ready for Cain and then for Lesnar. I was excited to fight Lesnar as he has a big following and brings in a lot of pay-per-views. It was a bit disheartening to get put back again but I took the time to train and move parts of my game forward. I saw it as an advantage more than anything... I am excited to take on Mir. He is the best Mir we have ever seen and has really improved his stand-up... I want to fight the best and challenge myself; that is why I am here. I don't know about Mir's size though. You never know until you feel your opponent's strength in the cage. It could be good weight but it is always a trade off between being lighter and faster or bigger and more powerful... The interim title doesn't mean anything to me. I don't understand what it means really but I know I'll get the shot at Lesnar and that is something I want. I am excited to fight Mir but the interim title doesn't mean anything to me. I want the championship. That is why I am here, fighting in the UFC."
-Shane Carwin talks to Matt Freeman at Mirror.co.uk about taking on Frank Mir and not caring about the Interim Heavyweight Belt.
Penick's Analysis: The Interim belt means nothing other than giving Carwin and Mir an extra two rounds to fight should it get there (which it won't), so it's no surprise that it's nothing more than a label for Carwin here. With a year out of action due to the Lesnar fight being pushed back I'm expecting to see a definitely improved Carwin, as he's gone through multiple training camps now for fights that didn't end up happening. This should be a good heavyweight bout, and Carwin's either going to get tested and have Mir push him later into the fight or one of them is losing quickly in the first round. If it's the latter scenario it's likely to be Mir staring up at the lights in New Jersey.
FYI: Shane Carwin still holds down a full time engineering job while preparing for his fights, and has no plans on ending his time there as he gets bigger and bigger fights, either.
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