Carwin vs. Lesnar confirmed, Velasquez pulls Rothwell

Okay, that Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 rumour appears to be true. AOL Fanhouse and MMA Junkie are reporting that Carwin’s original opponent, heavyweight Cain Velasquez, will now be facing Ben Rothwell at UFC 104, with light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida squaring off against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the headliner.

Velasquez (6-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) last earned a unanimous-decision win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99. The one-sided affair saw Kongo beaten and broken and embarrassed despite testing Cain’s chin several times in the early going.

Rothwell (30-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who was slated to fight Chase Gormley at the canceled Affliction: Trilogy event, has won 14 of his past 15 bouts, including two wins over UFC light heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the pressure, the spotlight, the media and fan frenzy in his octagon debut.