This is the final installment of the Ropes, Ring and Cage UFC 91 preview, airing live on PPV this Saturday from Las Vegas, NV. For the whole week's predictions, scroll down to the bottom of this column.
Randy Couture (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1) - UFC Heavyweight Championship
On Couture
What more can be said about the man known as 'Captain America'? At 45 years old, Couture has given hope to a generation of older athletes that they can still be relevant, competitive and a winner years after most people would have written them off.
He is the only five-time champion in UFC history and only the second to win titles in two divisions (BJ Penn). He's an Army veteran, a former three-time Olympic alternate and a multiple-time national wrestling champion at Oklahoma State.
Of course, this was back in the 1980s, but who's counting?
The UFC Hall-of-Famer debuted in May 1997 with a rear naked choke win over Tony Haime and TKO win over Steven Graham at UFC 13, when they had multiple matches in one night.
Seventy-eight events later, he's headlining what is expected to be the biggest event in the company's history. His notable career wins include tallies over Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, Kevin Randleman and Vitor Belfort. Notable losses include Liddell (twice), Josh Barnett, Belfort and Ricco Rodriguez.
Even though he hasn't fought since August 2007, he's won two of his last three fights including his Heavyweight title victory over Sylvia in in March 2007. He stands 6'1", 220 pounds and has been in more major events than most on the current roster. Couture isn't just involved in the big moment...he IS the big moment.
On Lesnar
Pretty straight-forward here as Lesnar doesn't have much of an MMA past. However, it's how quickly he's improved, his heel character and his potential that has got people buzzing about Lesnar.
The fact he's 6'3" and 265 pounds probably doesn't hurt either: the dude is a beast and on Saturday, he'll be gunning for the UFC Heavyweight title in just his fourth professional fight.
"The Next Big Thing" was a former standout collegiate wrestler at the University of Minnesota and won a 2000 national title as a heavyweight after placing second the year before. In four year, Lesnar became a two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Conference Champion and racked up a 106-5 record. So yeah, he's got wrestling credentials.
Then, there was his WWE run. Lesnar was a major attraction in McMahonLand, becoming the youngest WWE Champion they ever had at the time at just 25 years of age. He was a major draw, feuding with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, The Rock, Undertaker, John Cena and Kurt Angle in his three years with the company. After attempting to make the Minnesota Vikings as a walk-on, he eventually found his way to MMA even though there were legal hoops with WWE that needed to be cleared before it happened.
Lesnar debuted for K-1 in June 2007, defeating Min Soo Kim by TKO (strikes) just over a minute into the first round. He signed a deal with the UFC and debuted against former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir in February 2008, losing a well-documented match via kneebar submission in the first round. He rebounded with a well-received unanimous decision win over Heath Herring in August and now, here we are.
Breakdown
It's the ultimate divisive battle between young and old in this much-anticipated main event. If you're a Couture fan, you point to how you can't bet against him, how he's beaten the odds time and time again and how he's still Randy Freakin' Couture.
If you like Lesnar, you're probably saying how much you like his size, how's he younger and faster and how the next great fighter is one win away from going on a dominant run.
There are valid arguments for both which makes this such a fun fight to speculate on.
What could work against Couture is his inactivity. While he's stayed in great shape, he hasn't fought in over a year. He's dealing with a lot of outside issues (wife Kim's restraining order against Affliction's Tom Beard this week) and there are a ton of expectations on him by a public that is looking to him as inspirational. And while the story of "The Natural" still kicking ass at 45 is great, don't forget that he is just that: 45 years old.
Eventually, that will catch up with him, but will it be Saturday night?
What could work against Lesnar is his inexperience. In his first UFC fight, he got beat by a former UFC Champion and while he handled Herring, he's no Frank Mir. And if you feel that Couture is better than Mir, isn't it reasonable to think Couture should win?
While Brock's size is also mentioned as a positive, that big of a dude is going to get tired after a while, no matter how in shape he is. If Couture can stay off the ground with Lesnar on top of him, we think the old man has one more ace left in his five-ounce gloves.
RRC Prediction
Couture via 3rd round TKO (strikes)
UFC 91 Preview
Monday: Quarry vs. Maia
Tuesday: Gonzaga vs. Hendricks
Wednesday: Hazelett vs. McCrory
Thursday: Florian vs. Stevenson
Josh Nason has written and maintained Ropes, Ring and Cage since 2007 and can be reached at josh@ropesringandcage.com. If you are using any content or recapping from this site, please include a link to www.ropesringandcage.com. Thank you for your support!
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