UFC 81: Can Lesnar upset Mir?

One of the biggest bouts in Ultimate Fighting Championship history takes place Saturday night in Vegas as former NCAA national champion and WWE heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar takes on former UFC champion Frank Mir.

Lesnar was 106-5 in four years of college wrestling, winning the junior college national championship in 1998 and the Division I championship for the University of Minnesota in 2000, both as a heavyweight.

Mir concedes Lesnar's strength, agility and wrestling prowess will likely allow him to dictate where the fight is won or lost. Mir also has a wrestling background as a onetime Nevada state champion in high school, for what it’s worth.

"Brock's the superior wrestler, so in a lot of respects where he wants to fight the fight is where it's going to be held," Mir says. "If he takes it to the ground, I'm going to fight him on the ground. If he keeps it on his feet, I'll fight him on the feet. I don't really have much say in the matter."

The 30-year-old Lesnar (who also once signed with the Minnesota Vikings) made waves in his professional MMA debut on June 2, as he demolished former Olympic Judo silver medalist Min Soo Kim in just 1:09.

“I don’t see another guy in the UFC with 18 years of wrestling experience. I don’t see anyone with my kind of artillery,” explained Lesnar on why he thinks he will win in his UFC debut.

I'm not a huge UFC fan, but Lesnar's presence will make me watch. Hard to imagine he can beat Mir in only his second MMA fight, however.

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