Thursday, July 2 11:16 am PT: Next Saturday’s winner of the Brock Lesnar/Frank Mir heavyweight unification bout may have to wait until Oct. 24 to plan their next play date: that’s when Cain Velasquez and Shane Carwin get their chance to graduate from contender to challenger at UFC 104 in Los Angeles.
Carwin, 34, rebounded from a shaky opening against Gabriel Gonzaga in March to remain undefeated; Velasquez did more or less the same in a June meeting with Cheick Kongo. Velasquez is backed by an exceptional camp, but Carwin is a heavy hitter. (Whether his mass will serve him in a three- or five-round fight is another issue: He hasn’t left the first round in his entire career.)
Considering the timing, it’s very possible UFC could opt to have the winner of Aug. 29’s Randy Couture/Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira bout challenge the Mir/Lesnar winner later in the year. Couture/Lesnar II in particular would probably be a nice fourth-quarter revenue boost.
Considering that it wouldn’t take roping off a city block to house MMA media, it’s clear Strikeforce is counting on a surplus of mass press attention for what has easily become the highest-profile women’s MMA bout to date.
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