Couture Vs lesnar: The Big Show

"This will be the biggest fight in UFC history". Commercials cluttered with images of the hulking Brock Lesnar and the wily old veteran Randy Couture, run constantly on SpikeTV and ESPN, pounding this phrase into our psyches for the last several weeks, forcing us to believe its claim. Dana White, who has said he projects nearly 1.2 million pay per view buys, expects this to be the highest grossing fight for his organization in its history. Is it possible a former collegiate wrestler and WWE star with only 3 professional fights verses a 45 year old formerly retired Octagon pioneer could live up to this type of billing? Yes. Believe the hype fight fans.

MMA Message boards are filled with posts from supposed critics claiming that the marketing machine that the UFC and Dana White make up have built something out of nothing. Still, isn't that their job? Do not believe for one second this won't be a great fight. The proper ingredients have been thrown in the pan of mixed martial arts largest oven, the UFC, and what is now cooking up smells like one sweet offering for even the purest of fight critics.

Speculation swirls around the fights seemingly endless intangibles and fight factors surrounding each fighters age, size and experience. For those of you more than a little out of the loop, Randy Couture, or the Natural, is the people's champion. Never has a fighter been so loved and adored by MMA fights. Even after a year long hold out over contractual disagreements with the UFC, the people are clamoring to see their "Captain America" back in the Octagon.

Randy is 14 years the elder of his opponent in Brock. Lesnar outweighed him officially after the weigh-ins last night by 45 pounds. Still Couture seems unphased by these would-be obvious advantages and his own conditioning.

"I have a great camp. I have been active with all the guys," Couture said to ESPN.com this week. "I never really wanted to sit around. I like to train. I Iike being in the gym. It's well known around the MMA world that Randy stays in shape and fight ready basically year round. What about his lay off from fighting for more than a year? Randy says, "Everybody asks about ring rust. I don't think it's the same for mixed martial artists as it is for boxers. The training we do is just about as real as the fights. I'm not worried about [ring rust] at all."

The 6-3 265 pound Lesnar believes he is a totally different fighter than we have seen in either of his two previous UFC fights. Lesnar, who lost in his first appearance in the Octagon to Frank Mir via leg lock in 89 seconds, returned to thoroughly own the Pride and UFC veteran Heath Herring in his next fight at UFC 82. Despite, his critics Lesnar believes he's up for the challenge of facing potentially one of the greatest the fight game has ever known. Brock sought to become a Randy Couture expert.

"I had to move my camp a couple hours away up in northern Minnesota," Lesnar said. "We're out in the back woods for about eight and a half or nine weeks, kind of away from the outside world. All we had was Randy Couture fights and Randy Couture books to read … so we got to know Randy pretty well."

Will this be the biggest fight in UFC history by pay per view and revenue standards? Probably so. Will it be a great mixed martial arts war and one to be remembered? Only a spot on the stool at your local sports bar or $44.95 on your cable bill and a little time will tell.