THE RETURN OF RANDY COUTURE & THE NEXT BIG THING --UFC 91 This Saturday

The Heavyweight Champion of the UFC will finally return to the eight sided cage known as the Octagon on Saturday Evening November 15th. Randy "The Natural" Couture has been out of action for well over a year due to contractual disputes, but with that now behind him the ageless 45 year old warrior is ready to face the untested, yet still feared gargantuan wrestling monster Brock Lesnar. Randy Couture is probably the highest skilled and most achieved mixed martial artist in the history of the emerging young sport, but can a forty five year old phenom come off a long lay off and defeat a young, hungry giant who's wrestling skills and lineage match those of the old master.

Brock Lesnar is a unique blend of size, strength, speed, brains and desire. His two hundred and sixty five pounds of ripped muscle topped with spiked blond hair combined with steely blue eyes and ready to destroy visage immediately remind one why all Europe trembled under the wrath of the North Men for a couple hundred years. But ........... this monster of a man has only competed in three mixed martial arts contests and he lost one of those. Admittedly the one he lost was to the very talented former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, and even Mir admits that Lesnar was pounding the crap out of him until Frank managed to trap one of the big man's feet and apply a perfect heel hook. Lesnar's first MMA match was at one of those Japanese sensationalist events where Lesnar defeated some unknown Asian giant who knew even less about mixed martial arts than Brock did and then came his UFC debut against Mir. Lesnar followed that up with a three round demolition of former Pride FC standout and top ten heavyweight MMA fighter, Keith "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring. Herring went home with a loss on his record and a busted orbital bone, while Brock Lesnar stepped into the top ten heavyweights.

So Saturday's main event will be like the martial arts legends of old where the venerable master must face the younger and larger opponent who wants to add the defeat of the master to his reputation. Couture will probably have a very hard time applying his usual tactics of jamming the opponent into the cage, letting loose with some of his famous dirty boxing to soften the guy up, then take him down with a spectacular Greco-Roman wrestling throw and ground and pound to a victory. Lesnar is simply too big and powerful to bull into the cage given that he will have about forty pounds on the older guy and with his wrestling skills he will be hard to take down. Lesnar hits like a sledge hammer, but Randy strikes faster and move often. Lesnar has great ground control, but has he learned any submissions yet? We know that Randy can do it all, but can he do it against this size and youth and wealth of raw athletic talent? Will Couture be able to wear down and tire out the bigger man, who has to carry more weight around or will Randy tire from carrying the big guy around? Can Any 3 fight fighter defeat Any 3 time heavyweight and 2 time lightheavy weight champion? ................... The Old Master Against The Young Lion, it will be classic intrigue at its best.

This card will also decide who the second best lightweight in the UFC is when Kenny Florian meets Joe "Daddy" Stevenson. This is a match up of two Brazilian Jujitsu experts who have both gone on to learn the other aspects of the game. The also have both contended for the lightweight crown and each came up a bit short. Now they both want another shot at the strap, but only the winner of this match can expect a title shot any time in the near future, These TUF veterans are about as well matched as one could ask for. Florian has been on a winning streak and has recently developed a reputation for ripping elbow shots. Stevenson is the better jujitsu technician of the two and seems to be a bit more durable. Big stakes for good fighters should provide great action.

Undefeated Brazilian Jujitsu wizard Demian Maia will take on popular TUF alumni Nate "The Rock" Quarry. These young warriors know every aspect of their game, but their strong points will most likely dictate that this become a classic grappler vs. striker confrontation. Can The Rock KO the Brazilian before he gets submitted? It will be fun to find out. Also representing Brazil will be heavyweight Gabe Gonzaga, who won fame by knocking out Mirco Cro Cop with the Croatian's trade mark kick to the juncture of the spine and skull. Gonzaga then went on to drop a decision to Couture for the title, but was still impressive as The Natural returned to his home a winner with a broken arm. Facing the young Brazilian power house Saturday night will be veteran Josh Hendricks.

It'll be a BIG Show when "The Next Big Thing" Brock Lesnar tries to break The Legend and 5 Time World Champion, Randy "The Natural" Couture.

Good Night - Good Fight,
Frank "The Snake"