During an online live chat this afternoon for The Seattle Times to promote Saturday’s UFC Fight Night show, Dana White answered a question that’s been on the minds of many fans recently: Who is Shane Carwin fighting next? Wrote DW:
“As for Shane Carwin: Jon Olav Einemo. That’s his next opponent. He’s from Norway. He’s 6 foot 6, and he’s the Abu Dabi submission champion.”
The matchup has not yet been tied to a specific date or event. [Update:MMAJunkie says it's happening at UFC 131, June 11th in Vancouver]. A member of Team Golden Glory, Einemo (6-1) signed with the UFC earlier this month, and last competed in June 2010 when he defeated Kresimir Bogdanovic in Bosnia. (At least according to MMAFighting.com; none of the major MMA databases have a record of that fight actually happening.) Before that, Einemo’s most recent appearance was an armbar victory over James Thompson in November 2006. The only loss on his record came at the hands of Fabricio Werdum, who outpointed him at PRIDE 31 earlier that year.
Despite Einemo’s grappling credentials — which include a 2003 ADCC title in the 98kg category, and the honor of being the only man to defeat Roger Gracie in ADCC competition — this seems like a brutal mismatch as an MMA contest in the year 2011. We’ll update you when we know more about when this fight is happening.
Some other highlights from today’s live chat:
[Comment From AndrewA]
What top fighter not in the UFC are you interested in signing?
Dana White: Now with the acquisition of Strikeforce, we have them all.
[Comment From SoSickSabre]
Are you going to have trouble with monopoly laws now that you own all of the major mma orginizations?
Dana White: There’s no barrier to entry to get into this. All you need is a bunch of cash and a big set of balls. There’s no barrier to entry to get into this thing. It’s not like we make computer chips or something.
[Comment From jamie]
do u have a ego?
Dana White: Huge. Massive.
[Comment From Chris]
In your opinion who is the best pound for pound fighter in the world
Dana White: Anderson Silva I think is the No. 1, but it’s looking like Jon Jones could be very soon.
[Comment From David]
How much control do fighters have when it comes to matchmaking?
Dana White: Zero.
[Comment From Glenn]
Dana, how much can you max on bench at the moment?
Dana White: 315.