Brockbuster: Lesnar Out of UFC 106

Cue the “cursed card” séances: after Mark Coleman dropped out of a bout with Tito Ortiz set for Nov. 21’s UFC 106 event, headliner Brock Lesnar has informed the UFC that he will not be able to make that date for a planned title defense against Shane Carwin.

“He said he’s never been this sick in his life,” Dana White told Yahoo Sports. “He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it.” The unspecified illness has allegedly kept Lesnar from performing for the past several weeks at his training camp.

As binds go, this puts the UFC in one straight out of Houdini’s notebook: having been promised a title shot, it’s all risk and little reward for Carwin to take another fight; moving the co-main Tito Ortiz/Forrest Griffin rematch to headlining status is suspect considering Ortiz’s lengthy absence and Griffin’s flatlining against Anderson Silva in August.

One bright spot: at least Carwin knows Lesnar is human. Touch and go for awhile there.