Nov 11, 2008 - 11:00:00 PM Jed I. Goodman, MMATorch Columnist
On Saturday November 15, live from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the biggest fight in MMA history will be upon us. After fifteen months Randy Couture will finally be back in the octagon to take on the young and up and coming Brock Lesnar or, as he was aptly named in his WWE days, "The Next Big Thing". My colleagues will be breaking down the entire card throughout the week, but for now let's take a closer look at the main event fighters and their keys to victory.
1. His Stand Up - Lesnar has been in the fight game for less than a year and half, almost the same amount of time Couture has been out of it. He has been in the ring for a grand total of 17 minutes 39 seconds and his stand up has yet to be tested. Couture needs to strike hard and quickly like he did against Tim Sylvia, with lateral movements, while constantly landing his shots from odd angles. Couture is a master of "dirty boxing" and perhaps if he has a weakened Lesnar he can try for the clinch and unleash some elbows and uppercuts. That's a big "if".
2. His Submissions - In each fight Lesnar has had he has been able to take his opponents down quickly. Couture should be prepared to be taken down, but as Mir proved, it might not be a bad thing to be on the ground. We know Lesnar is a great wrestler, but he has yet to prove he has learned submissions. After taking Herring down he could not finish him and instead used his wrestling ability to win by points. If Couture is put in this situation he must be ready to attempt a submission. Although he only has two wins by submission, he should have the technical ability to win this way against an opponent who has been lacking in submission defense.
3. His Conditioning - "Superman" has proven how good his conditioning is and if this goes into the "championship rounds" all that extra weight and muscle Lesnar is carrying should create advantage Couture. Again the key word is "should" because Lesnar has been known for having great cardio conditioning, however he has never had to fight five rounds before.
1. His Power and Strength - Lesnar is a beast. He has to cut weight just to make it to heavyweight. Lesnar took Min Soo Kim down early and finished him in a little over a minute. He was able to knock Frank Mir down with basically a jab and made Heath Herring apart of his highlight reel, by knocking him so hard he did a somersault backwards. Couture has been knocked out several times, including twice to Chuck Liddell. If Lesnar connects it could be lights out Couture.
2. His Speed - Lesnar has explosive speed. A guy 265 pounds should not be that fast and it's no mystery he will be much faster than the last two big men Couture faced, Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga. Couture has not fought in over a year and the question remains does he still have it? Will Couture be fast like Bernard Hopkins was against the much younger Kelly Pavlik or will Lesnar be like Joe Calzaghe was against the older Roy Jones?
3. His Wrestling - Couture has a strong wrestling background thru his high school and college years and as an Olympic team alternate, but the edge goes to Lesnar who won the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship. If his stand up is still lacking, he can always go back to what he knows...wrestling, just as he did against Heath Herring. It might not be exciting, but it will win rounds. Hopefully Lesnar has practiced his submission defense because he will have to avoid any submission attempts by Couture who will be much more crafty on the ground than Herring was.
Goodman's Prediction: This is a tough one to call. Being younger, faster and stronger makes you want to pick Lesnar, but Couture is "Superman" for a reason. He has the experience and will have a strong game plan. It comes down to who will the mistakes and in my mind I think Lesnar will. My pick...Couture by decision.
