Wow, I must have missed this announcement. I do have to agree with everybody else. If it were the old Frank Mir, this would probably be a dream match for many of the MMA world. I still however, think that Mir will give Lesnar a run for his money.
UFC does need more faces for the heavyweight division so they could be looking to put Lesnar among the elite provided he does well against some of the tougher competition.
I would've loved to see Lesnar in UFC at first but the time is coming now. You can't fault Lesnar for hitting a boom period when it was in wrestling, and he has a great college background.
As for the "worked" aspect UFC used to be a hardcore spot. Biting is illegal now, so are low blows. These and other tactics were taken out in order to push it as a sport. Since MMA is widely popular, and also UFC management wants to make it a legimate sport I honestly doubt they'd throw Mir into a worked fight. This would turn alot of older guys like me away from MMA when we tuned in to those rare and early days of the UFC. I've been a fan of the UFC since UFC 3, so the older fans out there can attest its come along way since those early days.
So while I agree that it should be interesting, several factors will go into it as well. Like conditioning, the "hype" or "trash talk" segments UFC promotes before the fight, and the general over all mind set. As well as getting Brock prepared for his first fight, and also coming up with a strategy, well a lot of people love ground and pound I'd be more inclined to see Brock rely on submission, and breaking the guard to counter submission, while ultimately he is going to be a great striker also. If he can have good foot work, and put all these elements together he could end up making a good decision to make the jump from staged to real.
I do support the decision of Brock going to the UFC. I think there are more opportunities there for him, and if he has insane conditioning, and team to train with then he can become an unstoppable force that the UFC has needed, and that is what they're looking for. A new face to propel the sport and the brand.
The last I read Angle wanted to sign with the IFL but needed a year to train. It will be interesting to see where Angle goes especially with his status in TNA.
I am looking forward to the fight and will probably order UFC 81 unless I happen to just go to hooters and eat while watching it.
As for winners. I've heard that Brock has a great ground work, and effect strikes, but I know Mir is wanting to show the new upstart up, so I'm not going to predict who'll win but I will say it will be close, it could go the distance but more than likely won't as they'll be looking for a clean win or most likely an upset. I doubt we'll see a decision but I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.
