Ending weeks of speculation about who and when he will fight next, former UFC number one heavyweight contender, Shane Carwin revealed in a blog post on his website today that he will face Roy "Big Country" Nelson at UFC 125 January 1 in Las Vegas.

“I will be fighting Roy Nelson on 1-1-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight will be the Co-Main Event of the Edgar Maynard rematch. I think Roy is a tough opponent for anyone. He has been in several main event situations and has fought a lot of veterans in the sport," Carwin wrote today. "I am honored to be fighting again and feel like Roy is a worth opponent. My goal for the fight is to be exciting and go home with the win. I have a lot to prove as does Roy so this should make for a great fight.” 


Nelson, who underwent knee surgery at the end of the summer to repair a ligament tear he incurred during his three-round war of attrition with Junior Dos Santos at UFC 117 back in August, shot down rumors of the match-up last week when he indicated via Twitter that his reconstructed joint would not be healed in time for the New Year’s Day event, but it now appears he was just trolling fans and the MMA media.

The fight should make for an interesting contrast of styles, but since Nelson has been adamant about wanting to fight for the UFC heavyweight title some time next year, I can see him taking the fight safe by making use of his Renzo Gracie black belt to attempt to take the fight to the ground so he can try to tap out Carwin much like Brock Lesnar did at UFC 116.

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UFC 124
January 1, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card
Lightweight Championship Bout
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson
Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Undercard
Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares
Antonio McKee vs.Jacob Volkmann