With the announcement that Brock Lesnar will be back in action sooner rather than later, the heavyweight division in the UFC should start to return to some semblance of order.  The original plan had been to determine an ‘interim’ heavyweight champion to fill the void left by Lesnar’s absence, but with his return to the octagon coming much sooner than anyone expected that plan appears to have been shelved for now.  Frank Mir and Shane Carwin had been scheduled to fight for the ‘Interim’ championship designation but that fight will now be for the top contender to Lesnar’s belt.

Here’s a rundown of the top heavyweights in the UFC and where they fit into the puzzle:

SHANE CARWIN/FRANK MIR: Assuming that the winner of this UFC 111 fight comes out of it without any significant injuries and can quickly get back in training, Mir or Carwin will get the first shot at Lesnar.  Carwin was *supposed* to be Lesnar’s next opponent when all of his health issues started.  Mir, of course, is a former UFC heavyweight champion and was the de facto Interim heavyweight champion when Lesnar beat him at UFC 100.  Mir has put on considerable bulk since that fight and claims that his tactical approach to his UFC 100 loss was all wrong.  Mir did submit Lesnar in his UFC debut and is arguably the best heavyweight BJJ fighter in the sport.    While either man has the ability to win this fight, my personal hunch is that Mir’s experience will prevail.

ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUIERA/CAIN VELASQUEZ: These two will fight at UFC 110 in Australia.  If the Carwin/Mir winner isn’t able to make the quick turnaround to begin training for a fight with Lesnar, the winner of this bout could get the first shot at his title.  Velasquez is a powerful wrestler though has shown that he needs work on his standup.  Assuming that Nogueira has put his health issues behind him (he suffered a staph infection during his training for his loss to Frank Mir, and has suffered another infection recently) I’m thinking he beats Velasquez.  ‘Big Nog’ has fought the very best in the sport, and his experience alone gives him a significant edge over Velasquez here.

JUNIOR DOS SANTOS: Waiting in the wings is a fighter that could be the next dominant heavyweight, Junior Dos Santos.  Dos Santos trains in BJJ (he holds a brown belt) but since coming to the UFC he’s wowed everyone with his explosive striking and KO power.  He’s beaten Gilbert Yvel, Mirko Cro Cop and Fabricio Werdum.  Next up for Dos Santos is the always tough Gabriel Gonzaga, but a win here would put him in line for a heavyweight title shot in the near future.

BROCK LESNAR: Despite assurances that all is hunky dory with the UFC heavyweight champ, there’s going to be plenty of questions concerning his fitness to fight until he actually gets in the cage and does it.  Lesnar has regained most of the weight that he lost, and there’s every reason to think that he’ll be back to his dominant self but that’s not a sure thing.  As the UFC’s biggest PPV and box office attraction, everyone concerned is hoping that he’ll be able to quickly regain his competitive form but he’ll have to do it against a tough pool of challengers for his belt.