UFC 141: No Matter Who Wins Lesnar vs. Overeem, UFC Can't Lose

On Friday night, UFC fans are going to see one thing they haven't seen in a long time and one thing they've never seen.

The first, of course, would be Brock Lesnar back in action. He hasn't stepped inside the Octagon since October of 2010, when he was savagely beaten by Cain Velasquez to lose the UFC heavyweight title. Shortly before he was set to face Junior dos Santos at UFC 131, Lesnar had to bow out thanks to a second flare-up of diverticulitis.

Depending on how you feel about Lesnar you will either welcome him back with open arms or scorn him and hope that he never fights again after this. Either way, you know as well as I do that you will be watching.

As for the thing UFC fans have never seen before, Lesnar's main event bout at UFC 141 against Alistair Overeem will be Overeem's first fight in the UFC ranks.

Whatever you do, don't be the idiot who calls Overeem an amateur who isn't ready for UFC competition. Indeed, the dude has been beating other men to a pulp since the late 1990s.

When it comes to a fight like this, the question inevitably arises what the best outcome would be for UFC. After all, as big as UFC is, it can and wants to get bigger. The only way that's going to happen is if enough of the currently unaffiliated catch wind of increasingly awesome storylines.

With Lesnar vs. Overeem fight, UFC should consider itself lucky. Whoever wins, UFC wins. 

Let's consider what a Lesnar win will mean for UFC first. Say what you will about the guy, but we can all agree that he has more star power than any fighter in UFC's ranks. He has the years he spent in the professional wrestling circuit to thank for that, but you also have to give him his due to being the former UFC heavyweight champ.

If Lesnar wins, the former champ will officially be a title contender again, as a win against Overeem will push him to the front of the line of heavyweights waiting to square off against Junior dos Santos.

For all intents and purposes, Lesnar would be back and looking for revenge. Dana White will gladly write the headlines.

But what if Overeem wins?

This is the outcome I'm expecting, as I think Overeem will score a first-round knockout not unlike the one Velasquez scored against Lesnar way back in October of 2010. It wouldn't exactly be a shocking upset, but it will nonetheless be rather stirring to see Lesnar lying in a heap in the middle of the Octagon.

If this is what we get, UFC will have itself a new star. Last I checked, you can never have enough of those.

It's true that UFC will also have itself a fallen star in the form of Lesnar, but that wouldn't exactly be a nightmare for White and the UFC overlords. There are a lot of fans who would like nothing more than to see Lesnar get his ass kicked again, but those who are hoping that Friday night's bout will be his last in UFC should give it up.

Make no mistake about it, Lesnar is not going to suddenly vanish from UFC. By his own admission, he likes fighting too much.

“I like it. I like doing it,” Lesnar said this week, per ESPN.com. “I’m not ready to be done. I’ve made a little bit of money here and there, but at the end of the day, I think it’s my identity. It’s who I want to be.” 

It will be just fine with UFC if Lesnar wants to keep fighting even after losing to Overeem. It may be apparent that he's not much of a fighter, but his name will still be big enough to draw a crowd. If he ends up returning his name to title contention, great. If not, whatever.

Obviously, you're free to root for whoever you want. But no matter what happens, this is going to be a good night for UFC.