Dana White and the UFC have announced the main event for UFC 91 on November 15. Current heavyweight champion Randy Couture, after taking over a year off due to some injuries and contract issues with the UFC, will fight the up-and-coming former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar.While this is certainly a fight that many MMA fans will be excited to see, is it really the fight that Couture and the rest of the heavyweight division deserve? Lesnar shows a lot of potential, and his win over Heath Herring was a convincing one. But let's not forget his UFC debut, when he lost by submission to Frank Mir in February. Mir is scheduled to fight interim titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in December. Dana White has said that the winner of the Nogueira-Mir fight will face the winner of Couture-Lesnar sometime in 2009.
Now, the logical question becomes: What next?
Fedor Emelianenko, arguably the best fighter in the world at ANY weight class, has expressed a desire to fight Randy Couture, in an effort to reward the fans, and also provide himself with the greatest potential challenge possible. Fedor also said that he likes Brock Lesnar very much, and enjoyed watching him fight.
Couture has already said that he believes he can beat Lesnar, despite Lesnar's 40-pound weight advantage. Randy already proved himself against the equally enormous Tim Sylvia, but Lesnar is already 10 times the fighter Sylvia ever was, or could be. Tim Sylvia is terribly slow, and his only strength is his knockout power. Lesnar fights with the quickness of a lightweight, and has incredible wrestling skills, much like Couture.
While Lesnar's potential is unquestioned, he still hasn't proven himself in the octagon. His loss to Mir was only 6 months ago, and his fight against Heath Herring showed that he still lacks finishing skills, and there's a great chance that a better submission fighter (like Mir) would still be able to catch him making a mistake. In that sense, Lesnar really doesn't "deserve" a title fight... YET.
There are 2 things that save the UFC from hearing those claims that Lesnar doesn't deserve this fight. Lesnar is wildly popular right now. Although purists might question his credentials to this point, the general public is going to go nuts over a Couture-Lesnar fight. Also, there are (conveniently) 2 UFC heavyweight titles out there right now, due to Couture's temporary departure. The UFC never actually stripped Randy of his belt, but they DID award an interim championship belt to Nogueira, after his win over Tim Sylvia. Now, both fighters still claim to be the champion. Since the Mir-Nogueira fight was already set up, the UFC needed someone to fight for Couture's belt, so the winner could fight Mir or Nogueira in a unification fight. If the rumors of negotiations finally going somewhere with Fedor Emelianenko are true, the UFC could suddenly have a problem that they've never experienced before in the heavyweight division... TOO much talent at the top.In other news, troubled superstar and former light heavyweight champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is also expected to fight on the UFC 91 card.
Randy Couture at 225 Believes He Can Beat Brock Lesnar at 265-Plus [Fanhouse]
Fedor Talks Couture, Lesnar, Appeals to Dana White's Conscience [Cage Potato]
Fedor and UFC Negotiating / It's Official He's Back [Rear Naked News]
Couture Back In UFC Fold [Sherdog]
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