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Dec 14, 2009 - 10:02:01 PM

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

While UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is sidelined with his current illness issue until at least July, if he's able to return at all with the constant "he's not out of the woods yet" reminders from Dana White, there's another heavyweight fight out there for the man that was set to be his challenger, Shane Carwin. That fight is against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir.

Mir destroyed Cheick Kongo on Saturday night in Memphis at UFC 107, and he's hell bent on getting another shot at Brock Lesnar. Carwin had been thrown into the Title fight originally because Lesnar needed a challenger and Carwin was, at the time, the most deserving. That's no longer necessarily the case.

With Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez facing off in February, the winner of that bout may have a claim to being a number one contender by the time Lesnar is able to return. At the same time, another win by Mir puts him in that mix as well, and Carwin can solidify his shot at Lesnar with a win over Mir.

It's a bout that both fighters have now publicly stated they would be interested in taking, and it's one the UFC should put together for UFC 111 in March, as Carwin will have had time to heal up the knee injury he's been nursing and Frank Mir is ready to go again following his quick work over Kongo.

Said Mir of Carwin to MMAWeekly.com, "Carwin is a phenomenal match-up, and I think if I can’t fight Brock again to show that I’ve made improvements against that style, I think Shane Carwin is a more than an ample substitution. If anything, I think he’s a better version."

Carwin in turn posted the following on his official website: "The main question I am getting is would I fight Frank? The answer is easy YES. I am not a fighter who decides who he fights, I fight who I am told to fight. I like it that way, I am not trying to build a legacy I am trying to fight the best fighters in the World and determine where I fit in. Mir is a Multiple time Champion, who has been counted out more then Mike Tyson to only find himself right back at the top. He is a LEGEND of the sport and I would be honored to fight him."

Both fighters clearly seem open and ready to take this bout, and if Brock Lesnar can't return by July than they'll have a set up bout for an Interim Title should the UFC decide to go that route with the winner of this bout against the winner of Nog-Velasquez.

Should Lesnar be ready for his July return, the UFC would likely then have the winner of this bout set to face off with him. Carwin would have truly earned his Title shot with a win over Mir, while Mir can set up what will be a big seller on pay-per-view yet again for the rubber match. A win over Carwin will mean Mir has done what he needs to do to prove he deserves another shot after the beating he took at UFC 100.

This is just a fight that makes a ton of sense with the state of the UFC's heavyweight division with Lesnar on the sidelines. With both fighters willing and able to take this fight come March 27th in Newark, NJ, it would make for a perfect co-main event for the GSP headlined pay-per-view event.

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