Carwin overhauls engine after loss

The question of how Shane Carwin would react if one of his opponents lasted past the first round was asked and answered in his last fight.

Carwin didn't like the response, and he's done something about it.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight star made significant changes, mainly in his diet and conditioning, and has transformed himself since totally running out of gas in his first career loss to Brock Lesnar in July.

In the past, Carwin has had to cut up to 15 pounds on weigh-in day to reach the 265-pound limit, but he weighed in easily at 254 on Friday for his UFC 131 main event bout against Junior dos Santos tonight in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"Every time you come out of a fight, you always try to make sure you're a better fighter, and there were a lot of things that I learned in that space," Carwin said. "So we push on and we go into this fight and hopefully we made great corrections to all of those things."

Carwin, 36, entered the Lesnar fight having finished all 12 of his opponents in the first round. He looked as if he was going to add Lesnar to that list, but somehow he could not put him away despite landing shot after shot on the downed former champion in the first round.

When the bell sounded to begin the second round, Lesnar looked rejuvenated while Carwin appeared exhausted, and Lesnar won by submission late in the round.

Hoping to make sure that doesn't happen again, Carwin turned to nutritionist Josh Ford.

"My diet is mostly organic now, a lot of fruits and vegetables," Carwin said. "We get some chicken and fish in for protein, but he completely changed my thoughts on nutrition, and everything we do is for recovery. He's been a great asset and probably one of my biggest assets for this camp. I feel like I have more energy, and I just feel generally better."

That wasn't Carwin's only improvement since his last fight. He had surgery to repair a nagging neck injury, which was causing pain and numbness in his back and arms.

Carwin said the difference is "night and day" after the successful operation.

Partly because of all the changes it spurred, Carwin doesn't view his loss to Lesnar in a completely negative light.

"It is part of life. I'm not going to dwell on it. There was definite positives," he said. "The one thing I can say is that I left everything in the octagon. I was barely able to walk out of there, so I didn't hold back. I put everything I had, every ounce of energy I had, into that fight.

"When I walked out that cage door, I knew that in my mind, so I was OK with myself. I just knew I had things to work on."

If Carwin walks out of the cage victorious tonight, he'll earn a title shot this year against Cain Velasquez.

The fight against dos Santos, which could end early with two of the sport's top power punchers, headlines the pay-per-view event.

The card also features the featherweight debut of Kenny Florian, the fourth weight class of his career. Florian will drop to 145 pounds to meet Diego Nunes, who has won three fights in a row since the only loss of his career, including a split decision victory over Mike Brown in his UFC debut.

A middleweight bout between Mark Munoz and former title challenger Demian Maia will move the winner into contention for a shot at the belt.

Brazilian jiujitsu ace Jon Olav Einemo, who has not had a pro mixed martial arts fight since 2006, will make his UFC debut against Dave Herman.

Einemo was slated to face Carwin, but Carwin was moved into the main event to replace Lesnar, who suffered a recurrence of diverticulitis last month.

Also, Donald Cerrone takes on Vagner Rocha, who is making his UFC debut.

The five-fight main card goes live on pay per view at 6 p.m. Two fights will air live on Spike TV (Cable 29) at 5. The remainder of the undercard will be streamed on YouTube and the UFC's Facebook page at 3.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.