Saturday, November 15 – 7:31 P.M. (CT)

-One of the most intriguing pay-per-view events in memory will take place in just a few hours. The Ultimate Fighting Championship 91 will feature perhaps the most important fight in the history of Mixed Martial Arts. The UFC Heavyweight Championship will be at stake when a very respected and celebrated champion in Randy Couture faces the man who could be the future of the sport, Brock Lesnar.

The irony with Couture and his entire career is that while he has the respect of his peers, his boss, and the fans, he is rarely the favorite to win big money fights. Couture was not expected to defeat Tim Sylvia. He was not expected to beat Chuck Liddell. He was not expected to beat Tito Ortiz. Of course, Liddell beat him the next two times out, but Couture is coming off of a big win over a year ago against Gabriel Gonzaga.

The questions about Randy Couture going into this fight remain the same. Is he too old? Is he too rusty? Is he too small? My question is this: when are people going to stop asking these questions? Couture is the ultimate professional and he is the thinking man's fighter. His ability to focus his attack on his strengths, while at the same time picking apart the weaknesses of his opponents are things he has done better than anyone else in the sport.

Brock Lesnar is an absolute beast, but he is very raw (no pun intended). He is young, huge, fast, and unbelievably strong. Undoubtedly, Couture will be ready and one has to wonder if Lesnar will make any changes to his repertoire. Lesnar has one speed (fast) and one direction (forward). Will he be able to strike Couture to the point where Couture cannot defend himself or fight back? Or, will Lesnar make the dire mistake that will allow the veteran to pick him apart?

Another issue going into the fight is conditioning. Couture's conditioning is something that has always set him apart from others. A lot of people will look at the fact that Couture will be giving up roughly fifty (50) pounds to Lesnar. This could potentially be an advantage for Couture the longer the fight goes. Couture will look to pick Lesnar apart and if either man is going to end up being gassed, it will most likely be Lesnar.

I am guessing Lesnar will come at Couture early in the fight looking to end it early. To me, the first few minutes will tell the tale. If Couture can withstand Lesnar's early attacks, he will be just fine. I am expecting that Couture will be ready for what Lesnar brings early in the fight. Dot Net's own Jason Powell is predicting Lesnar to win the fight, although he admitted he would not be surprised to see either man win.

Personally, I am going with Couture tonight. Couture has the intangibles that I think will lead him to victory tonight. Couture has won many fights that he was not supposed to win. Lesnar has all of the tools, but I feel Couture will have an answer for everything Lesnar brings to him. Lesnar's only chance, in my opinion, is to overwhelm Couture. I feel Couture will weather any storm and end up winning the fight. Someone at Dot Net is going to have this one right!

Don't forget to follow along with me as I cover the show live on the site tonight.

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