Interim UFC champ Carwin gets his point across through Twitter
By Beau Dure - Special for USA TODAY
7/1/2010 10:38:35 AM
The Carwin News Network is much further along than the Ochocinco News Network.
While NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has mused over the prospect of setting up his own "news" network online, UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin has mastered the art of using Twitter to get his message across.
It's not that he's cutting out the news media — he insists that he hasn't limited news media appearances leading up to his UFC 116 title unification bout with Brock Lesnar, but he is simply asking people to go through the proper channels before calling. But the brainy Carwin, who still holds down a day job as an engineer, is also making his point in short bursts online.
"It's just that I can't answer my phone every day to somebody else from the media and give them the interviews when I'm trying to train and be with family and get things done in my life," Carwin said during a conference call. "So it hasn't been necessarily that I've turned any of the media away, it's just to make sure that they go through the proper outlets."
While 140 characters might not seem like much, it might take Carwin longer to compose a tweet than it does for him to win a fight.
The hulking heavyweight has gone through the first 12 fights of his career faster than Mike Tyson. Carwin's longest fight was his most recent, a knockout of former champion Frank Mir to win the interim belt and set up his matchup with Lesnar. That lasted 3 minutes, 48 seconds.
Carwin is more candid online than in other situations. After Lesnar beat Mir in July and reacted with middle fingers to the crowd, Carwin posted, "The flipping off of the fans is just LAME. He may be a Champion, but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a Champion."
On UFC's Countdown show, Carwin didn't back down from the criticism.
"The sport of mixed martial arts, what it has taught me, is discipline and respect," Carwin said. "That's the first thing when you go to any type of class. Whether Brock has taken a class, I don't know."
Yet Carwin respects what Lesnar has accomplished in a short time in the cage. From his Twitter feed: "He is the real title holder. The interim title is due to his illness. I am just the #1 contender."