Lots of talk of a possible Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin interim heavyweight title match at UFC 111. Here’s the scoop from Cage Pages:

Frank Mir is coming off of a quick and impressive submission victory against Cheick Kongo at UFC 107. Mir has had his eyes set on a rubber match with Brock Lesnar since he suffered a loss to the current champion at UFC 100.

Mir’s determination could be seen in his physique. The heavyweight came in noticeable bigger with more muscle than ever. Mir was a good twenty pounds bigger than we have come to expect.

Reports are circulating that Mir could have his chance at the heavyweight gold as soon as March. Unfortunately for Mir, it is yet another interim championship. Mir won the heavyweight interim belt last December when he defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira; Mir lost the title in a unification bout against Lesnar in July.

Lesnar is on the shelf with a serious illness. Lesnar was initially scheduled to face top contender Shane Carwin at UFC 106 before Lesnar had to pull from the match with his illness.

Carwin has been patiently awaiting and recovering from a knee injury since the news broke that he would not face Lesnar, but according to the reports Carwin would be Mir’s opponent.

No real argument with this matchup, and from a promotional standpoint it sets up the best potential unification matchup with Lesnar if (and when) he’s able to return. Mir has sounded borderline obsessed with a Lesnar rematch of late, and Carwin has been waiting patiently for the fight throughout the current UFC champ’s various ailments. It does leave Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodgrigo Nogueira out in the cold. Velasquez still has some work to do on his game IMO (though he looked very impressive in beating tough Ben Rothwell at UFC 104), and Big Nog may still need another win to reaffirm his top contender status after his loss to Mir. In all fairness to Big Nog, he’d just suffered from a staph infection at the time of the fight which clearly impacted his performance.

Mir vs. Carwin possible for interim heavyweight title @ Cage Pages