Carwin out of Nelson bout at UFC 125
From Shane Carwin...
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.
I was really looking forward to fighting again and obviously this is a very disappointing turn of events. My manager said "You can't fight the best fighters in the world with just heart, it is time to stop limping to the top of the mountain and get healthy so you can climb it on your terms." I have been up all night thinking about this decision and what I may be missing by making it.
In the end my family and manager are right. I owe myself, I owe my fans the best show I can give them. I need to get healthy. I am going to be speaking with the surgeon this week about the surgery. My thoughts are if the surgery fixes it why add 8-12 weeks of physical therapy, epidurals and traction if surgery may still be needed.
The good news is the doctors said I can work on my cardio (they must have seen my last fight lol) with this injury.
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.
This type of thing is MMA. I know I am saying that a lot but it is the truth. We sacrifice our minds and bodies on our own time and our own dimes to prepare for battle. in hopes that we get the call for battle. In that process things can go wrong and if we don't compete we don't get paid. The time, money and sacrifices are lost and your opportunity might pass you by. Some fighters choose to fight injured as the risk is worth any part of the reward they may receive.
This is why sponsors who support fighters outside of when they fight are critical to this sports success. This is why I am always thanking my sponsors.
If it wasn't for my sponsors I would not be where I am and I surely would not able to make this very difficult decision right now. Thank you Dethrone, Budlight, Good4UDrinks, and performancemma.com for your continued support. Thank you to my other sponsors and to all of those helping us fighters chase this dream of being a Champion.
Thank you to Jason Genet for being able to make sure that all of my efforts in and out of the ring have value. You and your team have done so much for me and my family words cannot describe how grateful we are.
To my fan's, we will get there and in the end this is all for you. I hope to continue to entertain you and interact with you as much as possible.
PS- If you are going to use this story please at least source where you got the content. Yes you BE!
http://www.shane-carwin.com/profiles/blogs/fight-update========================
A back injury has forced Shane Carwin to abandon a fight with Roy "Big Country" Nelson on the Ultimate Fighting Championship's New Year's Day show.
"I am going to pull out of the fight with Roy Nelson," Carwin posted on his official blog on Tuesday. "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 eight to 12 weeks. If they do have to perform surgery, I do not know how long I will be out of action."
Among heavyweights, Carwin and Nelson are Nos. 5 and 17 in the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus rankings, which are updated monthly. They were scheduled as the co-main event for UFC 125 on Jan. 1 in Las Vegas.
Losing Carwin to injury clouds UFC's heavyweight picture. Other than No. 6 Junior dos Santos, who earned a title shot by beating Nelson in August, there is no clear title contender in the wake of Cain Velasquez's victory over Brock Lesnar last Saturday.
Carwin-Nelson had the potential to be a title eliminator. But the promotion's heavyweight ranks seem devoid of credible challengers to the winner of Velasquez-dos Santos.
DOS SANTOS: Can he become the undisputed No. 1?
No. 7 Frank Mir defeated Filipovic last month at UFC 119, but the encounter was so lackluster that UFC officials refused to award a Knockout of the Night bonus even though it was the only knockout of the card. Mir also lost badly in his last two title fights, against Carwin and Lesnar.
No. 9 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was not competitive while losing quickly to Velasquez in February. He's also still recovering from recent hip surgery.
No. 13 Gabriel Gonzaga, No. 14 Cheick Kongo and No. 15 Mirko Filipovic lost or drew in their most appearances.
Outside of Velasquez and dos Santos, you have to go all the way to No. 20 Ben Rothwell to find a UFC heavyweight who won without issue in his last bout. He took a decision over Gilbert Yvel in June.
