UFC interim heavyweight champ Shane Carwin may joke about representing the UFC in the "fake champions" category, but when the talk turns to his upcoming challenge for the official belt that sits around Brock Lesnar's waist, he becomes deadly serious.

Carwin (12-0) has had a start to his career that most fighters only dream of. Twelve fights. Twelve finishes. All in the first round.

Despite his success, or maybe because of it, the mechanical engineer from Denver, Colorado with the cool blue eyes and the soft-spoken voice seldom seems to get too excited over a new challenge.

This time is different.

Although Carwin says that the chance to fight at the end of a long training camp is reward enough in itself, it's obvious that the clash of personalities with Lesnar (4-1) and his larger-than-life presence is making their July 3 fight something more than ordinary.

Carwin has restricted his exposure to the media in the lead-up to UFC 116 and his fight for the unified title, and he's hoping his focus will show when he steps into the Octagon this weekend.

"I am not overly worried about the media attention or the fame," Carwin told MMAFighting.com. "I want the best Brock ever on July 3rd. I want a war, and one of us will need help leaving the Octagon. Everyone wants me to finish this fight fast. I would love to be able to show my entire MMA game on July 3rd when the world is watching."

Asked if a victory over Lesnar, who sees a far bigger payday than Carwin, would lead to a restructuring of his contract with Zuffa and the UFC, Carwin had an uncharacteristically blunt answer.

"I do not think so," Carwin stated. "Beating Brock does not make you Brock. I will still need to insult most of the fighters in my division, flip off the fans, insult the biggest sponsors the UFC has and then and only then will I renegotiate with Zuffa. Dana and Lorenzo have taken good care of my family and I. They have given us more than they are obligated to and we are happy."

Carwin also expressed his scorn for Lesnar's frequent disparaging remarks about Fedor Emelianenko, a man many feel to be the greatest heavyweight fighter in the history of MMA.

"Well, Brock's MMA math is limited at best," Carwin said. "Fedor is the best heavyweight and possibly one of the best fighters ever. He has been tested and proven over time that he is a real legend. That is my biggest issue with Brock. He likes to take away from others without knowing or thinking about what he is saying. We may never know about how well Fedor would do in the UFC. We will have to just live with the fact that for the period of time he was fighting, he was one of, if not the best MMA fighters of his time. Guys like Brock and even myself could learn a lot from Fedor and his work ethics."

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 116 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!