After the overwhelming success of last July’s UFC 100, the UFC returns to the Vegas heat yet again to present the “biggest” title fight in the company’s history.  UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin will unify Lesnar’s heavyweight strap with Carwin’s interim belt.  Perhaps lost in the hype of the main event is a vastly diverse card that features everything from a Japanese, judo gold medalist and model to a full time firefighter from Indiana.

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-aired)

Kicking off the night is a heavyweight bout between UFC newcomer Karlos Vemola and Ultimate Fighter Season 10 cast member Jon Madsen.  Madsen is one of eleven (yes, eleven) former TUF cast members fighting on the 116 card.  Madsen brings his strong wrestling pedigree into the bout and looks to continue his undefeated run in the UFC.  Vemola is a relative unknown to the UFC, but the Czech brings an undefeated record (largely fighting in the UK based Cage Fighting Championships) into his debut.  He trains in London with UFC welterweight John Hathaway and DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis.

In the night’s second matchup, Daniel “Ninja” Roberts looks to bounce back from his UFC debut knockout loss to John Howard at UFC on Versus 1 as he takes on a returning Forrest Petz.  Roberts will look to implement his strong grappling skills and submission game.  Petz, on the other hand, returns to the Octagon for the first time in nearly three years after rolling off four straight wins.  Petz is a late replacement, as Julio Paulino had to pull out due to injury.

The third fight of the night features TUF Season 7 alum Gerald “Hurricane” Harris meeting up with undefeated UFC newcomer and Renzo Gracie BJJ black belt, Dave Branch.  Harris has racked up nine straight victories (two in the UFC), since an ill-fated run in the IFL in 2007.  After losing to TUF 7 Champ Amir Sadollah, Harris had to fight his way back back to the UFC.  Now training at Grudge Training Center in Denver, Harris will look to neutralize the Bellator veteran Branch.  Branch will try to continue his run of six straight stoppages (3 by submission, 3 by TKO).

In the final, un-aired bout of the evening, Ultimate Fighter Season 3 Champion Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove takes on Croatian fighter, Goran Reljic.  Grove is coming off a loss to Mark Munoz at UFC 112 and has alternated wins and losses over his last four fights.  Reljic, on the other hand, is coming off his first professional defeat at the hands of CB Dollaway at UFC 110.  This will be Reljic’s second fight in the middleweight division after starting his career at light heavyweight.  He will have to overcome a significant reach advantage over the 6’6” Grove.

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

The evening’s first televised fight will feature the return of TUF alum Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli to the UFC as he takes on yet another newcomer in Ricardo Romero.  Petruzelli has won four straight over the past three years, including the infamous 14 second destruction of Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson under the EliteXC banner.  The heavy handed Petruzelli picked up his first submission victory in his last fight just six weeks ago fighting in the BAMMA promotion.  Romero makes his UFC debut after eleven fights in the Ring of Combat promotion.  Four of his last five wins have come by submission.

Completing the free portion of the evening’s televised card is heavyweight clash between TUF Season 10 finalist Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub and two-time Division II wrestling All-American Chris “The Crowbar” Tuchscherer.  Schaub, the former University of Colorado fullback spent time on the practice squad of the Buffalo Bills.  He also possesses a Golden Gloves championship.  Fighting out of Grudge Training Center in Denver, Schaub trains with the likes of UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt, and Rashad Evans.  Tuchscherer, on the other hand, trains with UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.  After a tough loss in his UFC 102 debut to Gabriel Gonzaga, where he was on the receiving end of the one of the worst groin shots in MMA history, Tuchscherer bounced back with a close, majority decision over Tim Hague at UFC 109.

MAIN CARD

The pay-per-view portion of UFC 116 will start with a lightweight battle between two contenders looking for a title shot.  Australia and TUF Season 6’s George Sotiropoulos takes on New Jersey’s Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino.  Both fighters are riding win streaks and will look to knock the other out of the title picture.  Sotiropoulos recently defeated Joe Stevenson at UFC 110, utilizing superior control to win by decision.  The Eddie Bravo trained BJJ black belt will look to implement his submission game on the well rounded Pellegrino.  “Batman” brings four straight UFC victories into the bout and will utilize strong wrestling, fast hands, and his own BJJ black belt to counter the Australian.

In a rematch of their UFC 110 war, TUF Season 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar looks for revenge against TUF Season 8’s Krzysztof Soszyński.  Their initial bout ended when an inadvertent headbutt left Bonnar with a massive cut and led to a controversial stoppage.  Bonnar will enter his 12^th contest in the Octagon and is trying to halt a three fight skid dating back to UFC 94.  The Polish born, Canadian raised Soszyński trains at Team Quest and holds wins in four of his five UFC fights.  Both fighters will look to end any doubt left by their previous clash.

Another rematch, and potential fight of the night candidate awaits as TUF Season 4 member Chris “Lights Out” Lytle takes on TUF Season 7’s Matt “The Immortal” Brown.  Lytle holds a 2007 submission victory over Brown in the defunct UFL.  Lytle is perhaps best known for receiving seven fight night bonuses during his time in the UFC.  Currently, he has received four straight and looks to make it five.  The full time Indianapolis firefighter and former pro boxer showed his slick ground skills after submitting Brian Foster by kneebar at UFC 110.  Brown saw his three fight win streak snapped at UFC 111 by Ricardo Almeida and looks to get back on track by avenging his previous loss to Lytle.  The Judo brown belt possesses eleven finishes in his eleven victories.

On paper, the co-main event might not have as much appeal as it once did.  After Wanderlei Silva had to pull out due to broken ribs and an injured knee, the UFC scrambled to find a suitable opponent for Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama.  Luckily, TUF Season 1 alum Chris Leben, fresh off a victory over Aaron Simpson on June 19^th, was willing and able to step up to the plate.  Leben, without a doubt, would love to stand and trade with anyone.  With an iron chin and granite fists, Leben is a dangerous opponent for any middleweight.  Akiyama, the well-rounded judo gold medalist and model, has been on the shelf since last July after his split decision victory over Alan Belcher.  Look for Akiyama to utilize his judo and superior ground game to neutralize Leben’s heavy hands.

In the main event of the evening, the UFC Heavyweight championship will be unified as Interim Champ Shane Carwin takes on Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar.  This larger than life matchup will be the first time that an event is headlined by two fighters pushing the upper limit of the heavyweight division, as both will be cutting to 265 lbs. (Note: the UFC 111 bout between Carwin and Frank Mir was only the co-main event).  With over 500 lbs. of pure power in the cage, only destruction can ensue. 

The Interim Champ, Shane Carwin, brings an unblemished record of 12-0 into the fight, with every fight ending in the first round.  The full time mechanical engineer from Colorado will look to use his powerful strikes to end the fight.  Yet another fighter from Grudge Training Center in Denver, Carwin will come in as prepared as ever.  After his destruction of Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96, Carwin was promised a title shot at Lesnar’s belt.  After nearly a year of preparation (and an interim title fight against Frank Mir), Carwin will finally get his crack at the belt.  The former Division II national wrestling champion and two-time football All-American will be able to match Lesnar’s athleticism like no opponent before.

Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar returns to compete for the first time in nearly a year.  After a significant health scare involving diverticulitis, Lesnar has returned to health and looks to defend his belt.  The former Divison I national wrestling champion, WWE superstar, and Minnesota Viking will look to impose his athleticism as he did against Frank Mir and Randy Couture.  While questions might remain about the Champion’s condition after such a long layoff, one thing is for certain, once the cage door shuts on July 3, prepare for what might be the most explosive heavyweight clash in the sport’s history.