The Top Five Candidates To Fight Brock Lesnar Outside the UFC

The five fighters showcased in this reel are Heavyweights who would give Brock Lesnar his best challenge outside the UFC.

Most of the fighters can be considered career peers of Brock, fighters with explosive young careers who petered off in the latter years and are now on their way back.

Brock hasn't fallen off yet, but Mir looks to be the guy who will put him in his place.

But the tie that binds them all is the considerable opposition they make to Lesnar. All five are tried and true, polished, MMA contenders who are hungry to win, impressively.

They aren't the best Heavyweights, but they're good enough for Brock.

Alistair Overeem has stirred the combat sports media pot with his recent knockout of Badr Hari, laying out the Morrocan Kickboxer with tight wound uppercuts.

An intelligent MMA fighter with devastating kickboxing skills, Alistair's size and striking proficiency would pose a disastrous problem for Lesnar.

Alistair's most glaring weakness against Lesnar? His chin. Losing four of his last 10 fights by TKO and KO, Alistair's chin seems to be questionable.

But would Lesnar want to stand with the Dutch Shoot-boxing styled Behemoth? Probably. But should he look for the take-down, he'd need to be wary of Overeem's submission history of vicious guillotine chokes and kimuras.

Sergei Kharitonov, the third Russian of Pride to dominate the defunct company's Heavyweight division.

He's faced the odds and beaten his opponents with profound athleticism, relentless aggression, and heart. Though he comes and goes on the MMA radar, Sergei is a mainstay—always dangerous, always one punch or submission attempt away from the win.

Brock may overpower Sergei, but he certainly won't want to trade with him. Sergei's not the type to crumble under a stiff jab like Couture, Herring, or Mir.

Although he's a slight Heavyweight, Kharitonov has knocked off Alistair Overeem, Pedro Rizzo, Mu Bae Choi, Semmy Schilt, and Fabricio Werdum, all fighters who outweigh the Rus and make him look like a Middleweight in the ring.

Sergei's hand speed, punching accuracy, submission knowledge, and will to win would certainly make him an unlikely dangerous opponent for Lesnar.

Aleksander Emelianenko's on the rise in the MMA world: older, focused, married, and possibly the more athletically gifted of the older Emelianenko brothers.

Skepticism has been laid that Brock couldn't handle Fedor, and with good reason. But what about Sasha? Light on his feet with decent takedown defense, and hands like Ali, Aleksander Emelianenko is Lesnar's other greatest threat outside the UFC.

Aleks's sambo history testifies to his ground work, and his recent 5 fight win streak, in conjunction with his early MMA success, makes him a strong candidate to face Brock, a similar athletic anomaly who hasn't put all of his MMA pieces together.

Josh Barnett boasts a 24-5 record and is a perfect match for Brock Lesnar. Standing 6'3" to Lesnar's 6'2" and giving up 15 pounds to Lesnar's 265, Barnett begs to be an ample counter to Lesnar's domineering ground game.

Until Barnett, the five on this list had dominant hands to combat Lesnar's size. Here's an opponent whose size neutralizes hand-speed. A doppleganger to Frank Mir, 15 of Barnett's 24 wins have come by submission.

A seasoned lion in the MMA game, Josh Barnett could potentially devour Lesnar and put the UFC Heavyweight Division on its heels.

Andrei Arlovski...

The absolute epitome of an MMA Heavyweight Champion hopeful, he's come closest to dethroning Fedor since Cro-Cop's valiant but ineffectual effort at Pride Final Conflict 2005.

Intelligent hands behind an erring ego most often lead to Arlovski's demise, most typically with challengers he attempts to deflate instead of respect. It's the story of his recent loss to Fedor.

An Andrei Arlovski who comes to fight Brock Lesnar with the sole intention of poignantly pounding apart the 6'2" phenom could do so with unparalleled tact and poise.

His recent loss to Fedor may usher him back to the humbler side of life, which would mean a nearness to the "old Arlovski." And the "old Arlovski" could KO Lesnar with no problems.

Fyodorovich Emelianenko, the king to be toppled.

Fedor's manager has already stated that Brock isn't ready for Fedor, that he's a paper champion compared to the iron-willed MMA victories Fedor's amassed over the last nine years.

So why put Fedor at 0 instead of 1? Because he's already number one in the eyes of the majority. Brock is the type of fighter Fedor could handle easily: large and cumbersome; looking to tackle his opponent; predictable in movement.

Fedor Vs. Lesnar would be a good fight, one I would love to see happen in 2009, but it wouldn't be the best fight for Lesnar. Perhaps the best career-ending fight...