More Details on Potential Interim Title Fight Between Carwin and Velasquez

With Brock Lesnar recovering from surgery and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira out with a staph infection it is looking more and more likely that Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez will fight for an interim title early next year.

MMA Fanhouse sheds some light on the difficulties surrounding the potential fight.

Eventually, the UFC proposed a UFC 110 date. Carwin, however, is unavailable to fight at UFC 110, as he and his wife are expecting a baby on Feb. 11, just 10 days before the event. Because the event is being held in Australia, fighters have been asked to leave on the 11th, and Carwin is reportedly intent on being with his wife for the birth of his daughter, making the date a no-go.

Adding to the difficulty, the UFC is targeting an April event in Mexico, and hopes to showcase Velasquez -- who is of Mexican descent -- as one of the main attractions. A matchup with Carwin so close to April would put that Mexico date at risk and put the UFC in a position of possibly hosting an event without a fighter who has done much to make inroads in the Mexican market. Velasquez has done media tours in the country and has become one of the most popular UFC fighters there.

UFC 109 is out of the running due to the Coleman-Couture fight and the main event between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.