Earlier this year, former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin announced that, after a long hiatus from MMA, he was ready to return to the cage. Shortly thereafter, the big man announced that, despite his status as a former top-5 heavyweight, this return would not occur in the UFC.<\/p>\n
If Carwin’s return wasn’t going to occur in the UFC, it seemed likely that he would end up in Bellator, as the organization has signed several similar high-profile free agents<\/a> over the last few months. As it turns out, however, Carwin might not be destined for the Bellator cage after all. In fact, he may not even return to the cage.<\/p>\n Instead, it looks as though the former champion is poised for a move to\u00a0the ring of Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation, a promotion that has established itself as one of the best in the world in less than a year of existence.<\/p>\n Carwin insinuated this move in a post to Twitter, which showed a pair of extra large, Rizin-branded mixed martial arts gloves, and suggested he would need a bigger pair.<\/p>\n Hey @rizin_PR<\/a> you are going to need bigger gloves, these do not fit, not even close! #MMA<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Yk3gp2ataz<\/a><\/p>\n — Shane Carwin (@ShaneCarwin) October 23, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n