By FCF Staff According to a post attributed to Shane Carwin, on the top ranked heavyweight’s official website, he will not fight Roy Nelson at UFC 125 due to a bank injury. The bout was originally to take place January 1st, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Here is part of the statement Carwin has released.
"I am going to pull out of the fight with Roy Nelson. As many of you know I have been having some back pain. I had an MRI yesterday and I have some damage that may really require surgery. If the doctors do not have to perform surgery then I will be out 8-12 weeks. If they do have to perform surgery I do not know how long I will be out of action."
The UFC has not made any formal announcement regarding Carwin’s status.
Carwin (12-1) is coming off his first professional loss; in July, after dominating Brock Lesnar in round one, the former champion came back to submit Carwin in round two. Prior to that Carwin had won four straight in the Octagon, earning first round stoppage wins over the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga and Frank Mir.
Carwin conceded in the statement that the decision to withdraw from the bout with Nelson, another of the division’s top fighters, was a difficult one to make.
“This is a hard decision but the right one and I home #TeamCarwin can stand by me through this period of my career. No one wants to get me back to winning more than me. I just need to be healthy to do it.”
Nelson (15-5) is also coming off a loss; in August the former TUF competitor lost by unanimous decision to Junior dos Santos, after stopping Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve in his first two official UFC fights.
