Who won the UFC interim heavyweight title at UFC 111?

Shane Carwin won the UFC interim heavyweight title at UFC 111. He defeated former champion Frank Mir by first-round knockout on March 27, 2010, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The interim belt was created because undisputed champion Brock Lesnar was unavailable while recovering from a serious intestinal illness and surgery. Carwin and Mir were therefore matched for the temporary championship, with the winner expected to face Lesnar in a unification bout.

Carwin ended the fight quickly. He dropped Mir with uppercuts from the clinch, followed him to the canvas, took back mount, and finished with punches at 3:48 of the opening round. The victory made him interim champion and extended his professional record to 12-0 at the time.

Carwin later met Lesnar at UFC 116 in July 2010. He badly hurt Lesnar in the first round, but Lesnar recovered and submitted him with an arm-triangle choke in the second. Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos became heavyweight champions later, while Frank Mir was the defeated challenger at UFC 111.