^ You say shoot up the ranking like Big Country isn't already near the top of the heap. There are pretty much NO current contenders in the heavyweight division right now outside of Cain. Mir fell to JDS, and Big Nog fell to Mir. Lesnar's gone, Couture of course isn't going to be making any appearances, and I don't think Hendo has plans of moving up anytime soon. Carwin returning would make him the gate keeper. Whoever he faces is instantly going to either be the number 2 guy, or the number 3 guy. Say he fights Nelson. Well, if Carwin wins, he's number 1 contender and Nelson is number 2. If Nelson wins, he's number 1 and Carwin is number 2. The Heavyweight division is so jam packed with young, unestablished talent that at this point, Pat Barry is only one big win away from a title shot. And that should tell you something. UFC have to be licking their chops in anticipation for Cormier and Barnett to come over and add some depth to the division, because after Nelson, the level of competition takes a big dip. The entire division right now is jockying for position to be that number five guy (the big 4 currently being JDS, Cain, Nelson, and Carwin)... anyone can fill that void. It can be Pat Barry, Cheick Kongo, Stefan Struve, Matt Mitrione, Ben Rothwell, Mark Hunt, Lavar Johnson, Travis Browne, Stipe Miococ, or even Mir or Big Nog. And well, almost literally anyone else. It's a crazy time for the HW division if you ask me.
I think we need to start seeing fights with potential to launch the young guns higher up on the card. Carwin obviously needs to face Nelson at this point to decide who comes after Cain. If I was the UFC match maker, the next thing on my agenda would be hooking up a Mir/Hunt fight and a Nog/Struve fight. I'd even throw Overeem in there, making his return fight against whoever is the winner of the Ben Rothwell/Travis Browne fight on UFC on FOX 4. He could even fight Johnson. All of this being on the off chance that any of these young stallions could get the upset and launch themselves up into contention. In my opinion, Hunt, Struve, and Johnson are the closest to breaking through into contention. If any of them are able to beat their more established counterpart, there's a brand new threat to the Heavyweight crown. And at the same time, if they get beat, it puts those veterans back in the fold so that they can buy more time and establish more contenders.
I think we need to start seeing fights with potential to launch the young guns higher up on the card. Carwin obviously needs to face Nelson at this point to decide who comes after Cain. If I was the UFC match maker, the next thing on my agenda would be hooking up a Mir/Hunt fight and a Nog/Struve fight. I'd even throw Overeem in there, making his return fight against whoever is the winner of the Ben Rothwell/Travis Browne fight on UFC on FOX 4. He could even fight Johnson. All of this being on the off chance that any of these young stallions could get the upset and launch themselves up into contention. In my opinion, Hunt, Struve, and Johnson are the closest to breaking through into contention. If any of them are able to beat their more established counterpart, there's a brand new threat to the Heavyweight crown. And at the same time, if they get beat, it puts those veterans back in the fold so that they can buy more time and establish more contenders.