LAS VEGAS — UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will return from a yearlong absence to meet interim champ Shane Carwin on July 3.

The UFC announced Tuesday that Lesnar and Carwin will headline UFC 116 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

Lesnar is considered the UFC's top pay-per-view draw after just four fights with mixed martial arts' dominant promotion. The former WWE professional wrestler won the heavyweight title in November 2008, beating Randy Couture.

But Lesnar hasn't fought since stopping Frank Mir at UFC 100 last July. He missed two scheduled title defenses against Carwin with what was eventually discovered to be diverticulitis, an intestinal disorder.

Carwin is a 35-year-old mechanical engineer who won the interim title in March with a victory over Mir.