Alistair Overeem thinks it's a little fishy that Fedor Emelianenko is suddenly clamoring for a fight with him.

Emelianenko's reps at M-1 Global made headlines this week by announcing the Russian heavyweight wants a year-end meeting with Overeem - and not Fabricio Werdum, who submitted him Emelianenko back in June.

But Overeem, Strikeforce's current heavyweight champion, contends M-1 is playing "tricks" with the public to cut in line for a crack at his belt.

Fedor Emelianenko will in the coming week decide what
his immediate future holds in Strikeforce, according to a source close
to the fighter.

While speculation on Emelianenko's next opponent has centered around
current heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem or a rematch with Fabricio
Werdum, the source said a contest with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva on Dec. 4 is currently on the table for the Russian's final
fight on his current Strikeforce contract.

Strikeforce has yet to determine a city or venue for the Dec. 4 event, and officials could not be reached for comment. 

With former champions such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir recently being blown out of the water by opponents many consider to be the new breed of heavyweights in the UFC, current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar views the current state of big men in the promotion as a passing of the guard of sorts.

“Shane’s a tough guy and I just know that Frank’s time is done,” said Lesnar in a recent article on Yahoo! Sports. “This is the new evolution of the heavyweight division. Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, we’re the guys in this division.”

As far as Shane Carwin’s newly earned interim heavyweight title is concerned, Lesnar had no problem in giving the newly crowned champ his due…. well, sort of.

“This belt thing, well, hopefully he enjoys the moment,” said Brock. “He should enjoy the win over Frank, but he has to realize that I’m the heavyweight champion. Everybody knows that. Good for him winning that fake belt.”

And while Carwin may currently lay claim to what Lesnar deems to be a “make believe belt”, the formidable former WWE superstar will be the first to admit that Carwin will be no walk in the park come UFC 116 when the two hulking titans are set to clobber one another for the right to be called the true undisputed heavyweight king of the UFC.

“I had to pull out against him last fall and I didn’t feel good about that,” said Lesnar. “But I couldn’t fight a guy like that if I wasn’t in the best shape of my life. I had to do what I had to do.”

After months of uncertainty and nail-biting suspense, Brock Lesnar (4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and UFC president Dana White have finally set the record straight on Lesnar’s future in the UFC. The current heavyweight champion has worked out his medical issues, will indeed return to the UFC, and eyes this summer as a potential return date.

While the exact date of Lesnar’s return remains up in the air and open for discussion, it remains quite clear who his potential opponents could be.

Throughout Lesnar’s medical debacle, the UFC had been forced to install a backup plan in the event that the heavyweight champ would be unable to return to the organization. The backup plan includes an interim heavyweight title matchup between former champ Frank Mir (13-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) and rising phenom Shane Carwin (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 111 in New Jersey.

Enter Frank Mir…

Mir initially welcomed Lesnar to the UFC in a non-title affair. The longtime UFC vet and Jiu Jitsu ace submitted Lesnar in the first round and left many doubts as to how the former WWE superstar would stack up against other top contenders.

Lesnar silenced the doubters with a dominating win over UFC heavyweight legend Randy Couture at UFC 91 to become the interim champ.

Towards the end of 2008, Lesnar gained vengeance on Mir, defeating him at UFC 100 this past July by TKO in quite the convincing fashion. The matchup, which pitted two interim title holders, ended with Lesnar becoming the UFC’s undisputed heavyweight champ. This was the last we’ve seen Lesnar in the Octagon.

Enter Shane Carwin…

Carwin quickly turned heads in the UFC with three first round stoppage victories, including one over former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga. The three victories proved to be enough to earn Carwin a crack at Lesnar for the heavyweight title.

The title bout between Lesnar and Carwin was originally scheduled for UFC 106 this past November, but then postponed to UFC 108 at the beginning of this month due to Lesnar’s uncertain medical conditions. The bout was scratched all together when it was apparent that Lesnar would not be in any condition to fight.

Sizing up the potential matchups

Given the current players in Lesnar’s foreseeable future, we can see two possible situations coming to fruition: A rubber match goldmine with Mir, or a new test with the comparable size and strength of another former collegiate wrestler in Carwin.

Already a big draw himself, Lesnar’s rematch with Frank Mir at UFC 100 drew the second largest gate in UFC history. Surely a rubber would prove to be a goldmine for the UFC and Lesnar himself.

In a report published by MMAPayout.com, which focuses on the business side of MMA, it was shown that Lesnar topped the list of PPV revenue draws over a two year period. Mir placed in the third position, just below UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn. Given the rubber match situation and proven track record of both fighters to earn money for the UFC, the term GOLDMINE is stamped all over this bout.

But is the money making potential really what’s best for Brock Lesnar at this point in his young MMA career?

A matchup with Carwin would bring a new challenge to the table for Lesnar. Carwin, a former NCAA Division II wrestler, brings a comparable size and strength that many feel has the ability to seriously challenge Lesnar. Randy Couture was able to bring the wrestling ability to the table, but fell short in the size and strength department. While Carwin’s wrestling experience and strength may not be at the level of Lesnar, it certainly has the potential to cause trouble for the heavyweight champ. Would it come down to wrestling ability and brute strength, or would both resort to slugging it out on the feet?

The final breakdown

From a challenge and development standpoint, it would appear that a Carwin matchup would most benefit Lesnar in the long run. On the contrary, the business and promotion capability of a rubber match with Mir shows dollar signs flowing into the bank accounts of Lesnar and the UFC.

So which potential matchup would most benefit Lesnar? No one can answer that except for Lesnar himself. Does he want further closure on his nemesis Mir, or a new challenge against an opponent who arguably poses more threats than anyone he has ever faced?

Regardless of what happens with the heavyweight title picture, Brock Lesnar has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he will always have success and fame within the UFC.

While a press conference was previously expected to be held by the UFC this week to clear up the dark cloud that has hovered over the future of the promotion’s current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, it now appears as though the news will surface in a somewhat less formal setting.

Lesnar will appear on tomorrow evening’s ESPN Sportscenter broadcast which will kick off at 11 am ET according to a recent report from MMAJunkie.com who were recently able to confirm the news through UFC officials.

Lesnar has been missing from action since his UFC 100 mugging of Frank Mir in July of 2009.

Brockamania has been running wild throughout the mixed martial arts community in the days since the massive champion’s absence, with one of the more absurd published reports stating that the normally 300+ pound former NCAA champion wrestler has somehow managed to dwindle down to the 220 pound mark.

Common sense and numerous reports from those close to Lesnar would lead one to conclude that the former WWE superstar will be making a return to the Octagon sometime in the future, and hopefully with tomorrow’s announcement some of the lingering questions hanging over the oversized head of Lesnar will finally be laid to rest.

As it stands currently, Shane Carwin and Frank Mir are set to square off at UFC 111 to decide the promotion’s interim heavyweight tile in Brock’s absence.