The UFC returns to action tonight as heavyweights Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin battle for a shot at Cain Velasquez' championship belt. This evening's showdown between the two top contenders will serve as the headliner for UFC 131, an 11 fight card that also features scraps between middleweights Demian Maia and Mark Munoz as well as lightweights Kenny Florian and Diego Nunes. The latest Sports Betting Odds have Dos Santos listed as a -180 favorite in tonight's main event.
Shane Carwin, one of the most feared 
strikers in mixed martial arts, will step in for a sick/injured Brock Lesnar this evening as he looks to secure another heavyweight title shot. Carwin suffered his first career loss in his last fight (July, 2010), losing to the aforementioned Lesnar via a second round triangle choke.
The former All-American football player underwent neck and back surgery last November, a procedure that has kept him out of competition until now.
The time off afforded Carwin the opportunity to reevaluate his nutrition and conditioning programs, and, as evidenced by yesterday's weigh-in, the analysis paid dividends. Carwin, who tipped the scales at 255lbs., looked better than ever.
That could pose a problem for Dos Santos as the only thing that prevented Carwin from earning the heavyweight belt against Lesnar was a lack of stamina. The Colorado native pummeled the former champ the entire first round, but Lesnar weathered the assault and took advantage of the depleted challenger in the second frame.
Junior Dos Santos will present a risk to Carwin too, though, as the heavy handed striker is more imposing on his feet than any fighter the Grudge Training Center product has faced thus far.
Dos Santos, who like Carwin owns a 12-1 professional record, has knocked out four of his six UFC opponents, including Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, and Gilbert Yvel. His other two victories came via submission and unanimous decision.
The Santa Catarina, Brazil native, who trains with middleweight champion Anderson Silva as well as the Nogueira brothers, has not fought since last August when he took out former Ultimate Fighter winner Roy "Big Country" Nelson. Dos Santos dominated the fight, but was unable to finish the iron-chined Nelson despite landing numerous clean shots.
Tonight's event, which will take place at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, can be seen live on Pay-Per-View. Seven of the undercard matches will be broadcast live on Spike (Stout/Edwards, Bongfeldt/Weidman) and Facebook (Soszynski/Massenzio, Ring/Head, Poirier/Young, Beltran/Rosa, Omigawa/Elkins).
Fight Prediction: While I like Dos Santos a lot, I like Carwin even more, especially at +150 odds. I can see the fight going either way, but the Brazilian has never faced a fighter with Carwin's power before. It will be interesting to see how he reacts, if he is able to, once Carwin lands one of his thunderous blows.
Shane Carwin (+150) vs Junior Dos Santos (-180)
Demian Maia (-105) vs Mark Munoz (-125)
Diego Nunes (+220) vs Kenny Florian (-300)
Jon Olav Einemo (+160) vs Dave Herman (-200)
Yves Edwards (+130) vs Sam Stout (-160)
Jason Young (+250) vs Dustin Poirier (-350)
Jesse Bongfeldt (+300) vs Chris Weidman (-400)
Joey Beltran (+110) vs Aaron Rosa (-140)
Vagner Rocha (+300) vs Donald Cerrone (-400)
James Head (+105) vs Nick Ring (-135)
Darren Elkins (+200) vs Michihiro Omigawa (-260)
Mike Massenzio (+300) vs Krzysztof Soszynski (-400)
