by Tim Furious, BETUS.COM – BET NOW!

Let’s face it – as much as you love watching Rashad Evans dance around like a grasshopper on ADD, or marvel at Forrest Griffin absorbing punches like a drunk coke head who’s picked a fight with the wrong group of bangers, the heavy weight division is still a big crowd pleaser.

The problem has always been the lack of depth and competition on the roster for the UFC. Currently there are 24 big men in the heavyweight division of the UFC, which means that it’s simply hard to find quality fighters at this weight class. That’s a haunting feat for the loud-mouthed promoter of UFC, Dana White, especially with Brock Lesnar sitting at the very top of the mountainous heap of big men.

To make matters more complicated, Lesnar is by far the biggest guy in the division. He’s listed at 265 pounds, but this freak of nature lumbers around at 285 pounds during fight prep. We’re talking about a genetic monster who had to get special made fight gloves just so he wouldn’t decapitate guys with his massive knuckles. Finding Lesnar some real competition is the true purpose of Dana White and the UFC’s heavyweight division.

That’s where Frank Mir comes in. Mir holds the lone victory over Lesnar, who is only 3-1 SU as a champ. Mir and Lesnar are headed for a rematch after Mir dispatched of Nogueira, also known as “Minotauro” in decisive fashion via KO. Mir and Lesnar are headed for a showdown at UFC 100. Whomever wins will face one of two men who can challenge them in the UFC, which is pretty awful to think about if you’re Dana White.

One of those fighters will likely be the gigantic Cheick Kongo, known around the world as a physical specimen that is close friends with Rampage Jackson. Kongo is an animal, at 6-foot-4, tipping the scales at about 240 pounds of shredded, Parisian muscle. His next fight will be at UFC 97, titled “Redemption”, where Kongo will take on Antoni Hardonk, who matches Kongo’s size, but has little experience at 8-4 SU. Kongo is a blistering 23-4-1 SU, but when you look at this guy, you barely wonder how he could possible lose a fight.

If Kongo is able to surpass Hardonk, in Montreal, Canada, then he’ll face the winner of Mir-Lesnar. But there’s one more guy who’s making a ton of noise in the heavyweight circles.

For those of you that saw UFC 96, you were privileged to see the hairy ball of energy known as Gonzaga being knocked out by a viciously brutal punch from the man known simply as Shane Carwin. The Colorado native is undefeated at an impressive 11-0 and uses a combination of smart wrestling to deter opponents from going to the mat with him.

If you decide to stay away from Carwin’s ground game, then you’ll be met with a resilient fighter whose knuckles demented Gonzaga’s face with one short punch. For those of you that love the underdogs, Carwin is that guy in the heavyweight division. Staying undefeated for the time being means that Carwin will have to go through one of Kongo-Mir-Lesnar to get a shot at the belt. If that happens, Carwin will be ready.

But don’t take my word for it – take his. Carwin recently stepped away from the octagon and in to the radio booth to go one-on-one with our potty mouthed Radio guy, Damon D. You can hear the interview in its entirety at http://radio.betUS.com as Carwin chimes in about his thoughts on the heavyweight division, his chances of being the top scale-tilter of them all, and going undefeated.

The heavyweight division may be short on numbers, but it is certainly not short on talent. Randy Couture, Dan Severn, Keith Herring and Gonzaga have all made names for themselves in the UFC heavyweight division. With Brock Lesnar reigning supreme, Frank Mir returning to the UFC after some tough personal issues and Carwin/Kongo waiting in the wings to challenge either of those two, there’s certainly enough to be excited about when it comes to the big dogs of the UFC.

That is of course, unless Fedor Emelianenko makes his way across the Atlantic to answer the call that UFC heavyweight fans have been sounding off for years…