Lesnar sick, out of UFC 106

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Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar is sick and has pulled out of his scheduled UFC 106 title defense against Shane Carwin, Yahoo Sports first reported Monday.

A rematch of the memorable 2006 light-heavyweight bout between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin has been inserted into the Lesnar-Carwin main-event spot on Nov. 21 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

(UPDATE Monday, 9:30 p.m.:) Lesnar has apparently been sick for more than three weeks, missing training, UFC President Dana White told The Times Monday night.

White said he’d like to schedule the Lesnar-Carwin match for Jan. 2 on a card that will feature a middleweight title bout between champion Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, but will wait until Lesnar returns to full health.

White said that he doesn’t have enough time to place another fight in the Lesnar-Carwin hole. When told some UFC fans were decrying the Ortiz-Griffin bout as the UFC 106 main event on the company’s web site, White said those who seek a refund for tickets purchased can get one.

‘If you don’t want to watch the fight, don’t watch, but it’s an interesting fight,’ White said. ‘What do these guys have left? I think they both have something to prove, and want to prove it.

‘Forrest was down for looking bad against Silva, but I told him, ‘Who’s looked good against Anderson? Ever?’ This is going to be a good fight.’

--Lance Pugmire