Carwin followed up with an appearance in Birmingham, England at UFC 89 against Neil Wain, winning another one sided fight via TKO at 1:31 of the first round.

At UFC 96, Carwin took a major step up in competition when he faced former number one contender and renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Gabriel Gonzaga.

[14] Following UFC 111, Beau Dure of USA Today compared Carwin to Mike Tyson,[15] echoing a similar comparison made prior to the event by Mark Wayne of Fightline.com.

Carwin was scheduled to face former IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson on January 1, 2011, at UFC 125;[17][18] however, he later announced on his website that he would pull out of the fight due to back and neck pain, which required surgery that took place on November 2, 2010.

[19] On January 3, 2011, Carwin posted a blog entry on his website, stating that he had just begun his first day of training since his neck surgery, hoping to be back in the octagon by May or June 2011.

[21] However, another bout with diverticulitis sidelined Brock Lesnar, so Carwin agreed to step in to the main event to fight Junior dos Santos.

On September 9, 2011, Carwin posted a blog entry on his website stating that he was 100% healthy and looking to return to the octagon in late December or early January.

[26] However, on November 14, 2012, Dana White revealed on Twitter that Carwin injured his knee and would not be facing Nelson in the TUF finale.

[27] On May 7, 2013, Carwin announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) after enduring several injuries since his last fight on June 11, 2011.

[29] On September 7, 2016, Carwin announced that he had worked with his management team at Ingrained Media to secure his release from the UFC and became a free agent.

[32] On October 15, 2016, Carwin participated in a boxing exhibition match against professional skateboarder Jason Ellis at EllisMania 13.