Much of what can be said about UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has already been said. He's been called everything from an unbeatable juggernaut to a green rookie skating by on sheer athletic talent. He's been called the company's most marketable fighter and he's been called bad for the sport.

To my knowledge, however, this week marks the fist time Lesnar has been called a malingerer.

In one of the stranger news stories of recent memory – even for MMA – some are now suggesting that the champ is faking an illness after he pulled out of his scheduled Nov. 21 bout with Shane Carwin at UFC 106.

The fight has been rescheduled for the company's gala end-of-the-year event, leaving 106 to rebrand itself behind a rematch between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. Meanwhile, a few enterprising Internet journalists are using Lesnar's promotional appearance at a recent Minnesota Vikings game to imply that he is not as sick as his management claims.

"I’m not his doctor, nor do I have access to his medical records …," wrote Yahoo's Kevin Iole, who ironically was the reporter who first broke the story of Lesnar's sickness. "His management insists he’s been very sick and his training partners have concurred. I asked Dana White … if Lesnar sounded ill when they spoke (on the phone) and he said no. White said he had breakfast with Lesnar in Las Vegas about a month ago and said Lesnar told him at that time he wanted to fight frequently. Something doesn’t add up here and this bears further watching."

The most prevalent conspiracy theory says that the UFC would be behind a move to fake Lesnar's illness, so the company could move the Carwin vs. Lesnar fight to its popular year-end show without offending fans who'd already bought tickets to UFC 106. It seems plausible enough, but without much evidence to support such theories, I'm not sure accusing Lesnar of playing sick is quite warranted.

I'm no fan of Lesnar's behavior outside the cage, but he also doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would take lightly to the notion of pretending to be under the weather – and thereby admitting weakness – just so the company can make more money off his next title defense.

I'd be downright shocked, in fact, if the champion's management would capitulate to such a risky scheme.

Carwin, to his credit, has been pretty classy about the decision to move the fight back a couple of months, but couldn't resist pointing out that he too has been sick (and suffering from some nagging injuries) leading up the UFC 106, but wasn't about to pull out of his chance at the heavyweight title.

"Last week was the first week that I actually started feeling better from a strain of the swine flu," Carwin wrote on his personal blog. "I had lost over 15 pounds (something I could not afford to loose) and had just pulled some muscles in my leg during training … (but) I would have never pulled out of the fight. I would wheel myself to the cage if it was my choice. I know this is my destiny and I don’t need everything to be perfect I just need my opportunity to show the world what I can do and who I am."

If Lesnar is truly sick – which I believe he is – I'm sure I speak for all MMA fans when I wish him a speedy recovery. His fight with Carwin remains one of the most anticipated bouts of the year and, even if we have to wait a couple extra months to see it, all of us want both fighters to be in top condition when they step in the cage to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship.

Chad Dundas is a daily contributor to the Sporting News' MMA blog, The Rumble, and writes a weekly column for Crave Online. He lives in Missoula, MT.