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By Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor LESNAR VS. COUTURE ISN'T THE BIGGEST FIGHT IN UFC HISTORY
There's no way this is the biggest fight in UFC history. The reason for that is that it's a total mismatch. Brock Lesnar is taller, stronger, quicker, and younger than Randy Couture. The script reads like a movie; "The wise, older fighter triumphs over the physically superior younger fighter." The problem is that this isn't a movie and we're not guaranteed a happy ending. Brock Lesnar is not Tim Sylvia, nor is he Gabriel Gonzaga. Brock isn't just quick for a guy his size, he's quick period. And he's much stronger than normal guys his size. Brock has the advantage in every category except experience.
Age is going to catch up with Randy eventually. There's only so many times he can turn back the clock and pull off another improbable victory. Randy is older than Ken Shamrock. He's also older than Royce Gracie. Randy should be applauded and celebrated for doing what he has done. His life is like that movie script. If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes we wouldn't believe it. But this is not the ending people want to see. People want to see Randy ride off into the sunset triumphant, not get dominated in a title fight. I personally think that Randy can fight as long as he wants to and is able to but I'm probably in the minority. A lot of people didn't want Micheal Jordan to come back and play for the Washington Wizards and they wouldn't watch his games. The same could happen with Randy fights.
In order for this fight to be the biggest in UFC history it'll have to draw in fans who normally don't follow the sport that closely. A lot of people know Brock from WWE. Even if they don't, though, he looks like a fighter. Randy looks like a fighter as well but the average fan isn't going to be anymore interested in watching Lesnar fight Couture as they would about seeing Lesnar fight anyone else. Randy is 45 years old. He's a couple of inches shorter. He's outweighed by at least 40 pounds, probably well over that. The Average Joe is going to believe this is a total mismatch. They think Brock is going to destroy Randy.
NOTE- I've tried my best to see both sides of this argument. I've tried to put myself in the shoes of those who don't think this fight is the biggest in UFC history and that's about all I could come up with. I first decided to write these articles after I was at a party and the talk turned to this fight. There was over 40 people there and at least 90% of them said that Brock was going to crush Randy. I asked them why and they said that Brock is just so much bigger and stronger that Randy doesn't have a chance. I've seen old tapes of The Rumble in the Jungle and a lot of people were saying the same thing back then. They said that Muhammad Ali was too old and that George Foreman was too powerful and dominant to be beaten but, in a huge upset, Ali won. Also, not many people gave Buster Douglas a chance to beat Mike Tyson but he did.
I personally think Brock is going to beat Randy. But, if Randy can pull off the upset, that would be one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. I think a lot of the people who don't consider this to be the biggest fight in UFC history say so because Randy and Brock aren't equally matched. This isn't a case where both men are mirror images of each other physically. In order for Randy to win he's going to have to overcome a lot of physical disadvantages. The fact that he's done so in the past makes this possibly the biggest fight in UFC history. I'm not ready to call it the definitive biggest just yet. But maybe, if Randy wins, it will go down in history as such.
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