Shane Carwin confirms comeback, won't return to UFC
One of the heavyweight division's hardest hitters is set for a return to action.
On Wednesday, former UFC interim champion Shane Carwin announced on Twitter that he's ending his three-year retirement and is now a free agent.
Officially no longer with the @UFC. Thanks @IngrainedMedia for your tireless work. https://t.co/dQLbAceMoY
— Shane Carwin (@ShaneCarwin) September 8, 2016
Carwin also posted a statement on The Underground forum, thanking his management team for paving his way to come back and sign with a promotion of his choosing.
As many of you know I recently decided to come out of retirement. I asked my management team at Ingrained Media to help chart a course. This lead to reviews of my contract and conversations with Joe Silva and UFC's legal team. We decided mutually that my value and what I bring to the Heavyweight Division will be better utilized elsewhere. I am now a free agent. I look forward to freely speaking with the other MMA promotions. The Heavyweight division has a lot of great fights and not all of them are in the UFC.
I am excited about what the future holds. I want to prove to myself and my fans that I belong at the top of the division. Today that journey begins.
Feel free to ask me any questions.
Despite not having fought since 2011, the 41-year-old Carwin is likely to receive offers from the sport's major promotions. He compiled a 4-2 record in the UFC, with first-round knockouts of Gabriel Gonzaga and Frank Mir.
At UFC 116, Carwin challenged Brock Lesnar for the UFC heavyweight title. He dominated Lesnar before gassing out and being submitted in the second round. Carwin would then lose a unanimous decision to Junior dos Santos, before announcing his retirement in May 2013 due to a series of injuries that kept him from competing.