Carwin himself, in fact, made the news of his return on his official Twitter page (@ShaneCarwin), and since then many have speculated who the former title challenger will be facing.

In his last outing, Carwin attempted to unify his interim heavyweight title, which he earned with a first round knockout of former champion Frank Mir at UFC 111, when he tangled with the current title holder in Brock Lesnar, at UFC 116 last July. After a dominant first-round turned in, where “The Engineer” was able to drop Lesnar with a barrage of punches, eventually gassing himself when he unloaded a heavy dose of ground and pound that had left Brock on the ropes, but otherwise still in the fight.

Lesnar survived the first round scare to turn it all around in the second, eventually taking down the former Division II All-American collegiate wrestler, working to mount, before submitting the 265-pound Goliath with a an arm-triangle choke. The loss snapped an undefeated streak of 12-wins in a row for the Greg Jackson product.

Now returning to action after the disappointing loss, Carwin will tangle with former IFL heavyweight champion and “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10 winner, Roy Nelson.

“Big Country” himself, is coming off a loss of his own. After going 2-0 inside the promotion with a win over hot prospect Brendan Schaub, to claim the TUF title last December, and an additional win over up-and-comer Stef Struve (UFC Fight Night 21, in March of this year)—both by way of knockout, Nelson’s run to the top was derailed when he met Brazilian striker, Junior dos Santos.

Though competitive throughout the whole bout, unfaltering even after being knocked down twice inside of the first round, Nelson walked away from the bout the loser, when a unanimous decision went the way of the Team Nogueria product, who trains alongside the Nogueria brothers (of course) as well as champions Rafael “Feijao” of Strikeforce, and current UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.

Junior and Nelson were vying for a number one contender’s spot, against the winner of the Brock Lesnar/ Cain Velasquez showdown, which is going down at UFC 121 on October 23.

Nelson and Carwin, though not officially confirmed, will likely serve on the main card for the January pay-per-view card, which is taking place in Las Vegas, Nev. The news was first broke by MiddleEasy.com.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the match up? Who do you think will walk away the victor? Sound off in the comment section below.

Beginning to make noise in the heavyweight division, “Skyscraper” will meet with perhaps his most well-known opponent to date, when he tangles with internet sensation, Sean McCorkle.

Perhaps still largely unknown to the main stream mixed martial arts audience, “Big Sexy” has become a true hardcore favorite with his infamy which has been derived from the popular Underground Forums, of MixedMartialArts.com, where his zany antics and outlandish claims have eventually landed him in the big show of the UFC. Obviously, his talent has had something to do with that.

An undefeated giant, standing at 6’7 and cutting down to the 265-pound limit, McCorkle made his UFC debut most recently at UFC 119 in Indianapolis, Indiana before a hometown crowd. The unblemished prospect made short work of former PRIDE star, Mark Hunt. The action unfolded quickly when the reinvigorated Samoan quickly closed the gap with punches, which is indicative of his K-1 background. Sean took control, bringing the fight to the ground where he was eventually able to lock on a fight-ending arm bar, at just 63 seconds inside of the first round.

With the victory, McCorkle is successful in his UFC debut, and has pushed his record to a perfect 10-0, launching him into the big time.

Hoping to derail the momentum of the UFC rookie, Stefan Struve is looking for his second-straight win, when the two giants meet in the cage on December 11, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for UFC 124.

The news of the bout was first reported by MMAJunkie.com, which will most likely serve preliminary duties on the pay-per-view card, which is headlined by a title fight pitting reigning and defending champion, Georges St. Pierre against rival “The Ultimate Fighter” season 12 coach, Josh Koscheck.

Struve, 22, brings a wealth of experience into the cage at a tender and young age. At 20-4 (4-2 in the UFC), Stefan’s age and experience are unrivaled in the heavyweight division. Let alone, the fact that “Skyscraper” stands as the tallest fighter in the UFC, at a staggering 6’11, which rivals any other fighter in the promotion.

The Dutchman is coming off of an exciting slug fest with the previously undefeated Christian Morecraft, at UFC 117 last August. The early goings of the bout saw Christian largely in control, punching Stefan on several occasions standing, before bringing the action to the ground, mounting, and finishing strong, arguably earning a lopsided 10-8 round. A dejected Struve came back storming in the second. The two heavyweights traded punches against the cage before Struve landed a right hand to the chin in a wild exchange, dropping Morecraft to the ground, polishing it off with a few additional strikes before referee Herb Dean called a halt to the bout in just 22 seconds into the second round.

The win moved Struve improved his record to 20-4 overall, and garnered the Holland native 4 wins in his past 5 fights inside the octagon.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the match up? Who do you have pegged as the early favorite? Will McCorkle’s size match with “Skyscraper’s”? Sound off in the comment section below.

Emerson won a unanimous decision over “Filipino Assassin” Phillipe Nover (4-3) at UFC 109 in Las Vegas February 6.

Lentz fought to a draw with Thiago Tavares (15-3-1) at UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax January 11.

Nelson knocked out of Brendan Schaub (3-1) at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in Las Vegas December 5, winning the TUF 10 tournament.

Struve won a majority decision over “Head Hunter” Paul Buentello (25-11) at UFC 107 in Memphis December 12.  It was an exciting slugfest narrowly pulled out by the young Dutchman!

Nelson had posted to his Twitter account that he’d fight former boxing champion James Toney, but it was apparently a prank.

Florian had been publicly denying the rumors, but the Fighters.com reported last week that the matchup was inevitable.

In November 2008, Florian told Fighters.com, “I would love to [fight lightweights from Japan].  You know, there are so many great lightweights out there.  There’s a ton in the UFC already; so, it’s not like it’s not competitive right now.  But definitely, I’m always looking for new and exciting fighters to compete against; and, definitely there’s a lot over in Japan, and I’d love to be able to compete.  I just want to keep competing against the best and whether they’re in Japan or in the United States, then that’s great.”

After losing his second title shot to Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion “Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1) at UFC 101 in Philadelphia August 8, Florian is focused on cementing his legacy.  Bagging a Gomi is more for historical posterity than contemporary competition.

Gomi has won consecutive fights, most recently a unanimous decision over “Lionheart” Tony Hervey (11-6) at Vale Tudo Japan in Tokyo October 30.  But, he’s also suffered recent losses to Sergei Goliaev (9-6) at Sengoku in November 2008 and Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) at Sengoku in January 2009.  And, Gomi had even hinted recently that he was considering retiring from fighting to focus on surfing.

The matchup is expected to be the card’s main event.

MMA Junkie also reports that The Ultimate Fighter 9 lightweight champ “Real Deal” Ross Pearson (15-5-1) will fight at UFC Fight Night 21.

Pearson of England beat American Aaron Riley (28-12-1) by doctor’s stoppage at 4:38 of round two UFC 105 at M.E.N. Arena in Manchester Saturday.

His opponent is not yet known.