Recently in Brock Lesnar Category

by mmajunkie.com staff:
UFC 119 could have a major championship headliner.

Following his UFC 116 title-unification victory over interim champion Shane Carwin, undisputed heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar (5-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) now could meet top contender Cain Velasquez (8-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the main event of September's UFC 119 event.

Prior to Saturday's event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Lesnar and Carwin both were told by UFC officials that the winner - health permitting - tentatively would meet Velasquez at UFC 119. That's according to a report from MMAjunkie.com's (www.mmajunkie.com) Dann Stupp in his weekly Dayton Daily News "MMA Insider" column.

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin

Chris Leben steps up to fight Akiyama.

Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama.

Lesnar and Shane Carwin collide for the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 116 on July 3. To get ready for Carwin, Lesnar enlisted the help of one of the most knowledgeable fighters/trainers in the game today - and one he's fought against before at UFC 91 - Randy "The Natural" Couture.

Lethal Takedown from Bobby Razak on Vimeo.

Ultimate Fighting Championship® heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returns to defend his heavyweight championship against interim title holder Shane Carwin at UFC® 116, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, July 3.

SATURDAY, JULY 3, 2010 - Live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena - Tickets on Sale Thursday, May 13, at 10am PT

Las Vegas, NV (USA) - One day before America watches fireworks to celebrate their independence, the biggest heavyweight title fight ever will go off in Las Vegas. Ultimate Fighting Championship® heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returns to defend his heavyweight championship against interim title holder Shane Carwin as Bud Light Presents UFC® 116: LESNAR vs CARWIN, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, July 3.

"When people wonder why the heavyweights capture the imagination of all fight fans, it's because of guys like Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin," said UFC President Dana White. "Not only are they great athletes and former national wrestling champions, but they both have the ability to end a fight with one punch. This is one of those fights that you won't be able to turn away from because it can be over in a split second, and when it's over, only one will walk away as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion of the world."

Roy "Big Country" Nelson is proud of his protruding pot-belly; Cheick Kongo's never talked about his midsection, as far as I know, but I'm sure he thinks it's great he's got an 8-pack. This fight is rumored for UFC 116 in July, on the Lesnar vs. Carwin card. The thing is, Nelson's got a ground game and could get a win just by suffocating Kongo with that rack of spare tires.

Thanks to Michael Rome of bloodyelbow.com:
Below is the summary of the Brock Lesnar conference call that followed his appearance on SportsCenter.

--Brock Lesnar is ready to start training immediately, and will fight the winner of Shane Carwin and Frank Mir. If something happens to Mir or Carwin in that fight, the winner of Nogueira-Velasquez will get a shot.

--Brock was suffering for almost a year with stomach pains and didn't know what it was. During training camp for Shane Carwin everything snowballed and fell apart. He was missing full weeks of training camps.

Brock Lesnar has been ridiculed for mispronouncing Frank Mir's last name as "Mur," so what happens when Brock-a-claus puts on a hat and opens his mouth? Funny stuff, with one slightly profane word thrown in, just to warn you.

Saw a photo of this on Paul Miles' Mid-Atlantic MMA, and then found this video by way of facebook.

from a story written by Andy Samuelson of the Las Vegas Sun:

The 6-foot-3, 262-pound Carwin -- who, like Lesnar, is a fellow in NCAA wrestling champ -- offers the Webster, S.D., native his biggest physical test to date.

But neither the Colorado native's extreme size or his unblemished 11-0 record seems to faze Lesnar.

"He's a tough guy. He's undefeated, but some of the guys he's beaten aren't worthy of having on your record," said Lesnar, who squares off against Carwin at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 at Mandalay Bay. "He hasn't fought anybody. He's fought (Gabriel) Gonzaga, so I really think he's 1-0.

"He's a tough guy and a wrestler. But he's a Division II national champion -- enough said."

Lesnar, a Division I heavyweight champ while at the University of Minnesota in 2000, emphasized that much like this weekend's stop in Las Vegas, when he's in town, he's the star of the show. And he said he's ready for Carwin's challenge.

"I don't know what he is, 11-0, 10-0, but he'll have a loss against Brock Lesnar," Lesnar said with a stone face.

This video was shot just before Couture's loss to Big Nog at UFC 102, but at the end, around 4:55 or so, he talks briefly about Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin.

Thanks to Kevin Vickers from justbleed.com for the poster concept. Maybe the UFC will like it and buy the design.

Looks like Shane Carwin, who fights heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar at UFC 106, is trying to get his weight up to match that of Lesnar, undoubtedly the biggest UFC heavyweight champ ever.

In this corner: Lesnar, who revealed this on his youtube channel:
Weight Log
============================== =====
Previous Weight Logs:
August 8 '08: 265lbs (Weigh In)
August 9 '08: 289lbs (Fight)
November 14 '08: 265lbs (Weigh In)
November 15 '08: 276lbs (Fight)

Recent Weight Logs:
July 10: 265lbs (Weigh In)
July 11: 287lbs (Fight)
August 18: 304lbs (Pre-Training Camp) (After Workout)
August 24: 298lbs (Pre-Training Camp) (After Workout)
September 1: 306lbs (Pre-Training Camp) (After Workout)

And in this corner, Carwin, who blogged recently:
Question: How's your training going?
And, I know you usually weigh-in right around the 265 limit, will you actually put back on much weight after the weigh-in?
I know Brock usually puts back on quite a few afterwards.

Answer: Training is great all things are smooth.

I shoud be about 290 fight night

I think these guys are evenly matched. Both have great amateur wrestling credentials, massive frames and heavy hands.

Shane Carwin is the babyface to Brock Lesnar's heel - except in the UFC, the finish isn't planned out backstage.

By Greg Savage, sherdog.com
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will meet Shane Carwin in his second title defense at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Sherdog.com has confirmed the news through several sources with knowledge of the agreement. MMAMadness.com was the first to report on the card shift that will see Carwin move from a scheduled bout against Cain Velasquez at UFC 104.

Carwin has not answered calls for comment, but posted a message on his official Web Site Wednesday night.

"I can't confirm or deny anything. I can just tell you guys that I am training harder then ever and your support and loyalty will carry me through any fight they send my way," he wrote.

News from Dana White's news conference today, as reported by several Web sites, including sherdog.com, mmajunkie.com and bloodyelbow.com:

No deal yet that would make Fedor vs. Lesnar a reality. The UFC agreed to allow Fedor to compete in combat sambo, but would not agree to co-promote with M-1 Global, Fedor's management company.

Headlining UFC 103 will now be Vitor Belfort vs. Rich Franklin, not Dan Hnderson vs. Franklin, as had previously been annoucned. Kinds funny, as Belfort didn't want to fight Gegard Mousasi at 205, but is willing to fight Franklin at that weight.

As I had reported earlier, Tito Ortiz is back in the UFC, and will most likely face Mark Coleman at a future event.

Receiving UFC contracts are Paul Buentello, Paul Daley, Ben Rothwell, Chase Gormley, Dan Lauzon and Rafaello Oliveira

Getting WEC contracts are Mark Hominick, L.C. Davis and Javier Vazquez

Former WWE wrestler Bobby Lashley and Shane Carwin talk recently - I'm thinking it was at the UFC 100 expo? Anyway, maybe it's the camera angle, but Lashley looks to be a bit bigger than Carwin ... Not that it really matters. If Lashley can string together a few more wins - convincing wins over increasingly stiffer competition - we might see him in the UFC. Lashley's last win was against Bob Sapp, nothing that would really impress Dana White and Co. He said recently his sights are set on HW champ Brock Lesnar, but if Brock's still the champ by that time, he'll have to go through guys like Carwin, who have helped to make the UFC's heavyweight division one of the better ones as of late.

Sherdog message board member AnaCondomChoke made this post: "Dan LeBetard, as much as I hate him, just said on PTI (Pardon The Interruption) that the UFC "came out" Saturday into the mainstream and it was all thanks to Brock Lesnar. LeBetard called Lesnar "the biggest villain in mainstream sports" and he's right. The short-term thinking and reaction by fans is that "Oh, he dissed us and the sponsors and made us seem like pro wrestling." The long-term is he's become up there with TO and Bonds and other "bad boys" of legitimate sports. Those people are draws. Bonds saved the Giants from bankruptcy and legit helped attendance across the league. TO gets ratings for his games. And they can back it up, just like Brock.

Face it, people are STILL talking about the UFC, STILL talking about Brock Lesnar. You can't BUY this type of publicity. And the fact that all the "old people" are dissing it will make it MUCH more attractive to that key demographic of 25-49 year old men.

Thanks to bloodyelbow.com for posting it first.

Meet and greet with Logan, Arianny and Edith - nice.

I'm telling you, man, if you get a chance, go. There will only be one 100. Here's what's in store:

Autograph Sessions with UFC, WEC, former Pride, and Hall of Fame Fighters.

Limp Bizkit is scheduled to sign autographs at the show!

Keynote Addresses lead by Dana White & Lorenzo Fertitta.

Hall of Fame Induction - Join us immediately following Dana White's keynote as these worthy members join the ranks.

Interactive Training & Development Sessions lead by industry icons.

The Octagon - experience in person where it all goes down!

Dana's 71' Cuda - Join us for the big reveal of Dana White's overhauled muscle car!

Fight Bikes - Check out these custom bikes specially-made for Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta and showcased right on the UFC Fan Expo Show floor.

UFC 100 - The grand finale to the biggest weekend in UFC history.

Leading 150 Exhibitors showcasing everything MMA.

Online Storefront where you can see and learn about the newest products, technologies, insights, and innovations in MMA.

Show Specials highlighting exhibitor discounts and fighter appearances on the show floor.

Grappling Tournament - the largest submission, grappling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament in history taking place only at UFC Fan Expo!

Here's the Web site for more info.

Frank Mir Interested In Coaching Brock Lesnar Down The Road

from mmanews.com:
From an interview with MMAWeekly.com, interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir tells the site down the line he would like to coach heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar. The two are set to decide the rightful heavyweight king in July at UFC 100:

"I think that a lot of people realize that he was only 1-1, he had a .500 record in the UFC when he got a title shot.... I know at the end I'm going to be able to get a hold of him.

This apparently was taken at the Arnold Classic, the governator's annual Columbus, Ohio sports and fitness extravaganza. I went there two years in a row some years back, when they only had a couple MMA fighters around. Now, it looks like we're taking over. Nice.

from Kevin Iole of Yahoo sports:
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The heavyweight title unification bout between champion Brock Lesnar and interim champ Frank Mir at UFC 98 on May 23 remains on despite arthroscopic surgery performed on Mir's right knee earlier this week.

Fiveouncesofpain.com initially reported Friday that the bout was off because of a back injury sustained by Mir. It later corrected that to say it was a knee injury. And then MMAWeekly.com reported Mir had knee surgery.

UFC president Dana White said after the weigh-in for UFC 96 at the Nationwide Arena that he knew nothing of an injury by Mir. Mir and manager Dean Albrecht did not return messages.

"I don't know anything about it, so I honestly couldn't tell you anything about it," White said of Mir's injury and the report that the fight was off. "I'm not too worried about it now. If that were the situation, I'd know about it. I honestly don't know right now. I haven't talked to Frank and I haven't talked to Lesnar and if that's the situation, I'm not going to make any statements until I talk to everybody."

But a source in Las Vegas close to Mir said his knee began swelling excessively last week after a workout. After an examination, Mir had arthroscopic surgery to "clean up" the knee.

Mir won the interim title from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 in December despite a training camp that was filled with injuries. Mir's back was bothering him and he received frequent treatment on it in an attempt to enable him to compete.

An alternative would be to push the title bout back to UFC 100 on July 11 in Las Vegas, but White said because he had no information, he couldn't comment.

from fiveouncesofpain:
A planned rematch between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir for UFC 98 on May 23 that would have unified Lesnar's UFC heavyweight title and Mir's interim UFC heavyweight has been canceled.

Multiple sources have confirmed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that the UFC was recently informed by Mir's camp that he was forced to withdraw due to injury. Five Ounces of Pain originally had been informed that Mir had suffered a back injury but MMAWeekly.com has since reported that Mir actually suffered a knee injury and has already undergone surgery.

mmajunkie.com has the card so far:
Champ Brock Lesnar vs. interim champ Frank Mir (heavyweight title unification)
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
Frank Edgar vs. Sean Sherk
Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Wilson
Kyle Bradley vs. Phillipe Nover
James Irvin vs. Drew McFedries
Brandon Wolff vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Houston Alexander vs. Andre Gusmao
Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
David Kaplan vs. George Roop

Brock handing wife Rena the UFC HW belt.

If you're in Columbus, Ohio for UFC 96, stop by at the Arnold Sports Festival, going on the same weekend. UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar - who fights Frank Mir at UFC 98 on May 23 - will be there, according to a news release from the International Business Times:

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) January 26, 2009 -- Dymatize Nutrition®, a leading sport nutrition supplement company, has signed MMA Heavyweight Champion Fighter Brock Lesnar in an exclusive multi-year endorsement contract.

"We are pumped to have Brock Lesnar join the Dymatize® Team," said Brad Cooke, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Dymatize®. "By signing Brock we are not only supporting a world champion fighter, we are supporting a top athlete who is a big fan of Dymatize® products."

Brock Lesnar is a MMA fighter as well as a former champion professional wrestler. He is a superior competitive athlete who believes very strongly in the results he achieves with Dymatize® products.

"I have been using Dymatize® supplements for a long time," said Brock Lesnar. "I use Energized XPAND® Blue Raspberry before every workout...the stuff rocks! It's the reason I'm excited to be a part of the Dymatize® Team."

Brock Lesnar's first appearance as a Dymatize® spokesperson will be during the 2009 Arnold Sports Festival & EXPO in Columbus, Ohio on March 6th.

For more information about Dymatize® nutritional supplements, go to dymatize.com

from mmaweekly.com:

Fedor Emelianenko confirmed that he will indeed fight on the next Affliction show, although he couldn't name his opponent yet, according to a recent interview on DreamFighters.com. Affliction VP Tom Atencio has long stated that the plan is to pit Fedor against Josh Barnett, but Vitor Belfort is another name that has been tossed around recently.

Perhaps the bigger news though is that Fedor is hopeful to meet face to face with UFC president Dana White this summer with hopes of a bout against Brock Lesnar becoming the fruit of their talks.

"Yes, I will fight again on the next affliction card. Besides this me and my management hope to get a chance to talk to Dana White in person in June to discuss a possible fight between me and Brock," said Fedor in the DreamFighters interview.

Such an outcome has many hurdles before it. Firstly, Lesnar and Frank Mir are expected to meet before June to unify the UFC heavyweight championship. The outcome of that bout could have a big influence on any possible match-ups.

Aside from that, there is the matter that Fedor is under an exclusive contract to Affliction and M-1 Global. The folks that head M-1 Global also handle management duties for the Russian fighter.

A one-off deal or co-promotion is not something that the UFC has even remotely considered to this point, which is a major hurdle for both sides.

"The fact of the matter is that a loan-out is something that the UFC would not desire, they would never go for such a deal," M-1 Global Chief Operating Officer Joost Raimond told MMAWeekly.com last October. "And secondly, the way we have our program set up for the next years, and our event schedules set up, it's just not feasible to have a Fedor fight within the UFC."

The UFC-Fedor soap opera has been a long and winding road, but it looks like there are still a few twists and turns left before we find out what the destination is.

by Loretta Hunt of sherdog.com:
Don't be surprised to see Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture back in the cage together this year.

This time they'll be training partners, though.

UFC heavyweight champion Lesnar inquired about a visit to Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts in Las Vegas when he spoke with the UFC Hall of Famer at UFC "Fight for the Troops" on Dec. 10 in Fayetteville, N.C.

"I told him that would be fine," said Couture, who lost his sixth career title to Lesnar at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas.

Lesnar on vacation in Puerto Rico recently.

According to Ashish at 411mania, Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir is likely to face UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at the April UFC show from Montreal.

Ted's Take: This fight would unify the two titles: Lesnar's HW and Mir's Interim HW strap. I might have to pick Brock Lesnar in this one, despite Mir's impressive win over Minotauro at UFC 92. After Mir's win, which gave him the interim heavyweight championship, fans were treated to a little pro wrestling hype, as Mir, still inside the cage, found Lesnar in the crowd and yelled to him something about "It's my belt," referring to Lesnar's HW belt he won from Randy Couture. Lesnar stood up and yelled back at Mir to the crowd's delight.

The two heavyweights clashed earlier in 2008 in Lesnar's UFC debut. He knocked Mir down with a punch and also took him down, but tapped to a knee bar. Since then, Lesnar totally domintaed MMA journeyman Heath Herring and destroyed Randy Couture, clearly showing his evolution as a fighter. I would put Mir and Lesnar's striking at about equal; Mir might be a little more technical, but Lesnar has more power. While Mir has BJJ, Lesnar has wrestling, and I bet you Lesnar's been working on his submission defense.

Here's some great tid-bits on Mir/Lesnar, Liddell's return, Rashad Evans' first title defense, opne door for Arlovski and update on The Ultimate Fighter, from a story on CBS Sports:

Now that Mir defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to win the interim heavyweight championship and Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Couture to win the heavyweight championship, the stage is set for Mir and Lesnar to have a rematch. The big difference in the two bouts is that this fight is to unify the UFC heavyweight championships.

When they first fought in February 2008, Mir defeated Lesnar by submission in just ninety seconds. The matchup was Lesnar's second mixed martial arts fight and his debut in the UFC.

After Lesnar defeated Couture in November, he made it very clear who he wanted to fight next.

"I'm going to have to say that I need a rematch with Frank Mir," said Lesnar.

With Mir defeated Nogueira, Lesnar could hardly control his excitement about the opportunity to avenge his only defeat in four professional fights.

"I got my wish -- my rematch against Frank," said Lesnar. "This time I'm going to beat his (expletive)."

The unification matchup will take place sometime in the spring of 2009.

Excellent take-down and a quick cut gave Lashley the TKO win at his debut fight for Mixed Fighting Alliance's event in Florida. I say this is just not enough to get a clear picture of whether he can go further in his career. Both Lashley and his opponent were 0-0, and the fight was incredibly brief. We know Lashley has great wrestling, but can he transition to MMA with striking and jiu-jitsu as well? There aren't too many camps better than American Top Team, that's for sure. And it is waaaay too early to start talking about Lashley vs. Lesnar, although word is Lashley has his sights set on the UFC in 2010. Let's see him get a handful of fights in first.

You know how Brock Lesnar says "Murr" instead of "Mir" (as in Frank Mir)? Just watch.

powered by ODEO

This week, Tom and I talk about what's next for Brock Lesnar, Goran Reljic saving two lives, Strikeforce -Destruction and Ring of Combat XXII.

Jon Anik and Co. go over UFC 91, including Brock vs. Randy and Ken-Flo vs. Joe Daddy.

Fedor.

Brock.

M-1 would like to congratulate Brock Lesnar on his UFC heavyweight title victory as well as acknowledge Randy Couture's return to active competition after a layoff that lasted over a year.

Couture and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko had publicly acknowledged a desire to fight each other multiple times over the course of the past year. While M-1 and Fedor remain interested in a match against Couture, we would also like to publicly state for the record that we would welcome a superfight between Fedor and Lesnar that would be held as a co-promoted event between the UFC, M-1, and Affliction Entertainment.

Coming up in December, we have the other bracket of the 4-man heavyweight tourney, Interim heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir.

Mir, a former heavyweight champ, knee-barred Lesnar in his first UFC fight. According to mmaweekly, Lesnar wants to avenge the loss, calling Mir out at the post-fight press conference. It might be a different story if the two meet again - Lesnar appears to have evolved in just three fights n the UFC.

OK, so Lesnar takes on Nogueira/Mir, and if he gets past either one of them, there are several others waiting. Contrary to what many say, the heavyweight division isn't that thin. There's Shane Carwin, Cheick Kongo, Cain Velasquez, Gabriel Gonzaga, Fabricio Werdum and Antoni Hardonk. That's not a bad list of heavyweights, plus anyone else the UFC hires in the interim.

Unfortunately, I don't think we're ever going to see Fedor vs. anyone from the UFC. Fedor's management and the UFC bosses both seem set in their ways and unable to give an inch.

Here's the shot that started the beginnning of the end - a glancing shot just behind the ear. It doesn't look like a lot, but when you think there's 280 pounds behind it, that kind of changes things.

Darius, a guy who reads this blog - by the way, I appreciate that, man - wrote me an email after Lesnar's huge win Saturday night over Randy Couture: "Hey, man- what you got to say now?" Darius tagged his comment onto a post I had written more than a year ago, when Lesnar was about to invade the UFC. Here's what I wrote then:

"Well, well, well. You can take the man out of pro wrestling, but you can't take pro wrestling out of the man.

Brock Lesnar, who had it great in the WWE, tried to make it with the Minnesota Vikings, wrestled in Japan and now wants to make it as a mixed martial arts fighter, thinks he should get a title shot pronto in the UFC.

But how much of this bravado is pro wrestling hype and how much is real?

Lesnar told MMAWeekly.com he plans to attend UFC 74 in Las Vegas, where Randy Couture defends his UFC heavyweight title against Gabriel Gonzaga.

Then Lesnar uncorks these gems:

"I hope Randy wins that fight and then I can fight him in December," he said. "I'm going to go down there and see for myself and watch these heavyweights that I know I can beat."

What? I mean, what is he going to do, charge the octagon after the fight?"

What I have to say now is that Brock Lesnar has earned my respect. Since coming to the UFC, he has thrashed former chmap Frank Mir - until Mir caught him with a knee bar, totally dominated Heath Herring in a unanimous decision, and then demolished Randy Couture with a TKO to earn the UFC heavyweight championship.

So there you have it, Darius, tail firmly between my legs.

Thanks to the vivacious Tracy Lee for the photos. See more at combat lifestyle.

Dana and Arianny

Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory

Randy vs. Brock

Arianny gets ready for her b-day party

Just watched the UFC 91 weigh-ins on ESPN online. Jon Anik, the host of the Web-only ESPN show, MMA Live, hosted the show, along with guests Frank Mir, Stephan Bonnar and Franklin McNeil.

It was great to see ESPN giving some extra treatment to MMA, even if it was only online. Better still was the announcement that MMA Live would be doing pre- and post-event stuff tomorrow. Kudos to ESPN.

The four guys sat at a table just before the weigh-ins, talking about cutting weight, something I hope I never have to do. They periodically cut to the MGM Grand stage, where fighters weighed in.

Bottom line, everybody made weight. Funniest moment was Joe Rogan saying that Dustin Hazelett was sporting an "outstanding beard."

Brock Lesnar came out to mix of boos and cheers, but that was to be expected. He's still got that WWE persona, and regardless of what you think, it puts asses in the seats. Brock weighed in at exactly 265, and will probably gain 10-15 pounds in the next 24 hours.

Randy came out to a host of cheers and weighed in at 220. Mir made the point that it was beneficial for Couture to come in so light for a heavyweight, because coming in at say 235-240 still wasn't going to make up for the strength and weight advantages that Brock has. Coming in at 220, you can see Randy is going to use his speed and cardio to their fullest advantages.

The beautiful Tracy Lee of Combat Lifestyle posted these photos on her site:

Will Randy be able to do this:

To Mr. Ham-hands:

Or will this be more like the outcome:

sherdog.com's Jason Probst has a good read on Couture/Lesnar:
Whatever Brock Lesnar is doing, he has a knack for doing it on the biggest stage possible, with an emphasis on the dramatic.

Whether it's cracking the big time as a pro wrestler, his tryout with the Minnesota Vikings or three fights as a mixed martial artist, the former NCAA champ seems to have a knack for finding himself in front of as many eyeballs as possible no matter what he does.

Fittingly, with his challenge of UFC legend Randy Couture for the organization's heavyweight championship Saturday night, the 2-1 Lesnar faces a living legend who seems perfectly cast as a spoiler to his rise, someone perfectly geared toward upsetting the momentum of a decidedly fast-moving freight train.

Coming off as a pick-em with bookmakers, Lesnar and Couture pose some interesting questions for each other, and the biggest fight of the year.

Front cover of the December issue. Look at how Brock dwarfs Randy - makes him look like a middleweight. Of course, Randy has fought big guys before - he seems to thrive on being the underdog.

null - Watch more free videos

I still haven't made my mind up as to how I think this one's gonna go down. Randy's got the edge in experience, Brock has youth on his side. Randy's got a great clinch game, Brock has surprising speed with his hands from the outside. Randy's has the innate ability to pull wins out when it looks like he's facing insurmountable odds. Brock has the size and strength advantage. Randy is able to assess his opponents and figure out a game plan to victory, Brock has the brashness of youth that could punch holes through the best game-plans. Man, it has all the makings of a great fight - I sure hope it lives up to the hype, regardless of who wins.

The site for UFC 91 is up and running, at least part of it. See it here.

And the Roundtable discussion by ESPN people:

Bloodyelbow.com says that ESPN's next E:60 show will feature Brock Lesnar. It'll premiere Tues., Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. and will be posted here some time later if you miss it.

Features none other than ... Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture. Big surprise there.

from mmaweekly.com:
When Brock Lesnar signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the former collegiate wrestling champion and former professional wrestling superstar said he wanted to fight the top heavyweights. He was serious.

At UFC 91 on Nov. 15 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Lesnar will face Randy "The Natural" Couture for the UFC heavyweight belt in only his fourth mixed martial arts bout and third time in the Octagon.

"I've wanted a fight with Randy since before I signed a contract with the UFC," Lesnar told the media on Tuesday.

Despite his inexperience and Couture's year-long layoff from competition, expectations are high that the match-up will generate record numbers. "We actually do research on these things if you can believe it or not," said UFC president Dana White.

Dana introduces the fans to the newly re-signed Randy Couture and holds a conference call with Randy and Brock Lesnar.

Las Vegas, NV (USA) - On November 15th, the champ is back.

Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White today announced that after a year away from the game, UFC® heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon to defend his title against rising star Brock Lesnar in a clash of titans destined to shake the foundations of the sport. This championship bout, the biggest heavyweight title fight in years, will headline UFC 91: COUTURE vs. LESNAR, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008.

"I am happy to announce that UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture will be returning to action in the Octagon," said Dana White, UFC President. "He's a legend in the UFC, and one of the fighters that helped build this sport. I have always said that wrestling is one of the best bases you can have in MMA and not only is Randy a top level wrestler but his opponent is as well. Brock Lesnar showed the MMA world that he is for real in his last fight, dismantling the far more experienced Heath Herring. His combination of speed and power was absolutely devastating. It is a fascinating matchup: the crafty, multiple-time heavyweight champion versus the younger, bigger, and stronger challenger. This is one that will go down in the history books."

Couture

Lesnar

Multiple sites on the Internet are reporting that Randy Couture has worked out his legal problems with the UFC and signed a new deal with the organization. His first fight will be at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Portland, Ore. against Brock Lesnar.

from mmajunkie.com:
The long-rumored heavyweight superfight between UFC champion Randy Couture (16-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and WAMMA champion Fedor Emelianenko (28-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is currently being discussed for an as-yet-unspecified date in January or February of 2009.

Sources inside Couture's Xtreme Couture camp today informed MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the ongoing negotiations between the UFC and both fighters.

The fight is far from a done deal. Many of the same issues that prevented Emelianenko from signing with the UFC during previous negotiations must still be ironed out. But it appears that the UFC and representatives for both Couture and Emelianenko are working towards bringing the two legends together for a Feb. 2 bout.

Additionally, the same sources are reporting that Couture is currently "actively training for a fight."

Couture has remained in shape throughout his self-imposed 12-month layoff, but his workouts are now reportedly being geared towards an apparent upcoming bout.

Adding to previous speculation that Couture's return may be on Nov. 15 at UFC 91 against Brock Lesnar, Xtreme Couture is also reportedly making travel arrangements to bring in several "larger heavyweights" as sparring partners for Couture.

Sources indicate the Emelianenko bout is contingent upon Couture defeating Lesnar in November.

MMA Rated first reported the possibility of Emelianenko as Couture's second opponent after Lesnar. That report also stated that the UFC hopes to make an announcement regarding a new contract with Couture as early as Tuesday.

This is from Shidell, who posts at sherdog.com:
UFC was holding a fan event at the Summerfest grounds here in Milwaukee as part of the Harley-Davidson 105th celebration. Brock was on hand along with Chris Lytle to greet fans. Jardine and Herring were also supposed to be present, but either were going to be available at a later time or weren't available to make it (unfortunately). Brock was accompanied by his wife, Rena (otherwise known as "Sable").

I was most surprised by how appreciative and humble Brock was. While waiting in line, I could overhear the conversations of those in front of me, and while most fans thanked Brock for autographs and pictures, Brock was doing an equal amount of thanking in return, telling people thank you for coming out to see and support both him and the UFC.

Randy Couture caves in Tim Sylvia's face with his fist en route to winning the UFC heavyweight championship.

by Michael Rome from bloodyelbow.com:
I've spoken with a lot of people about Randy Couture in the last day. Things are definitely happening.

First, I can say with 100% certainty that there are current negotiations for Randy Couture to return in November to main event, and that the current proposed opponent is Brock Lesnar. They can't get Fedor, too many issues to work out on short notice, and he has a US-only non compete with Affliction.

This will be a new contract, not a return to the old one. It will likely pay him more and give him more benefits, but it will lock him into the UFC for the long term. In exchange for signing it Zuffa would drop all breach of contract charges.

All right, things are looking great - at least on paper - in the world of MMA for the rest of the year. Here are just some the major match-ups I've heard about, most confirmed, some still just rumor, but probably will happen:

-- Matt Lindland Vs. Trevor Prangley at Affliction 2 - Day of Reckoning.

-- Jay Hieron vs. Drew Fickett, also at Affliction 2.

-- Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley at EliteXC's Oct. 4 show on CBS.

-- Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn on UFC's Jan. 31 show.

-- Also upcoming on a UFC event is Brock Lesnar vs. Cheick Kongo and Joe Steveson vs. Kenny Florian.

-- Also on the CBS show, Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobald and Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. Brett Rogers.

-- And finally, another Affliction match-up, former IFL lightweight champion Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon.

Holy crap! That's a lotta MMA.

Lesnar

from the Pioneer Press:
Former Gophers wrestler Brock Lesnar, who is 2-1 as a mixed martial arts fighter, found out this week that Ultimate Fighting Championship would like him to compete next on a November card, but his opponent and site remain undetermined.

Ted's Take: So who do you think it'll be? It won't be a title shot - heavyweight champ Big Nog and contender Frank Mir are locked in doing TUF 8. Shane Carwin's only had one fight in the UFC and he and Brock appear to be cut from similar molds. I see a good clash coming with Cheick Kongo. He's a tall, lean kickboxer who has shown improvement on the ground. Lesnar is a muscular wrestler with surprising striking. Instant fireworks.

Kongo

... and finishes triumphant, but as I said before, could have been classier about it.

-- So Florian beat Huerta. The UFC had said a while back that this fight would be to determine the number one contender to BJ Penn's lightweight belt, but then reportedly backed off from that days before the bout. One could make the connection the souring on the signifcance of the fight was due to Huerta's disparraging comments in FIGHT! magazine, where he doubted their loyalty and said they paid him $50 a day for a promotional tour. So, the question is, now that Florian won, will he get a title shot, or is Dana White's next move going to be to let BJ Penn jump up a weight class to take on welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre?

-- Cheick Kongo (who some call "Cup Check" because of the four or so knees he fired at CroCop's nuggets in their fight) beat Viking Dan Evenson (who was waaay into his entrance music, by the way) ... so where does Kongo go from here? I'm still not too impressed with this guy - Herring gave him problems .. let's see how he does against tougher competition on the ground, like maybe Shane Carwin or Brock Lesnar, or even Frank Mir.

Caught a few of the fights on saturday night. Here are some thoughts:

In Lesnar/Herring and St-Pierre/Fitch, we saw the polar opposites of sportsmanship. Lesar thrashed Herring for three rounds. Totally dominated him with wrestling, but didn't seem to know how to put the veteran fighter away, a la jiu-jitsu or ground-n-pound. We did see another vicious one-punch knock-down, like he did to Frank Mir, so people better start fearing his hands.

It was a great victory for Brock. I was happy for him, until he started taunting and laughing at Herring. Before the final bell rang. Nah. That ain't cool.

St-Pierre vs. Fitch went the full 25, and gets my nomination for Fight of the Year, but more on that in a minute. St-Pierre was the first fighter to pass Fitch's guard and also handed Fitch his first loss in the Octagon. Fitch proved to the world he deserved his title shot, absorbing punch after punch, elbow after elbow, takedown after takedown.

After the grueling contest, St-Pierre got down on his knees and shook Fitch's hand. If I were to guess, he was thanking Fitch for giving him the fight of his life. Fitch in turn got down on his knees, knowing that he gave St-Pierre his biggest challenge. He then picked St-Pierre up to display him to the roaring hoard.

That's the way MMA should be. That's what makes it so special. The camaraderie between fighters. There is some unexplainable bond that is forged when you push someone to their physical and mental limits. No matter what happens in the lives from that point on, St-Pierre and Fitch will never forget that night.

BJ Penn, who seems to be making a habit of post-fight cage appearances, materialized and yelled to St-Pierre to make a re-match between the two happen. St-Pierre, in a not-so-enthusiastic repsonse, said he would fight anyone who was worthy. "Eee can't andle my widdum," anyone?

UFC.com has the video of the 87 Seek and Destroy weigh-ins up. Click here to see it.

Thanks to mmajunkie.com:

Champ Georges St. Pierre (170) vs. Jon Fitch (170)
Heath Herring (250) vs. Brock Lesnar (265)
Kenny Florian (155) vs. Roger Huerta (155)
Jason MacDonald (185) vs. Demian Maia (185)
Rob Emerson (155) vs. Manny Gamburyan (155)
Luke Cummo (167) vs. Tamdan McCrory (170)
Dan Evensen (244) vs. Cheick Kongo (235)
Andre Gusmao (205) vs. Jon Jones (205)
Steve Bruno (170) vs. Chris Wilson (170)
Ben Saunders (170) vs. Ryan Thomas (170)