The Next Big Thing vs. The Baddest Man on the Planet: UFC 100

By Eric Y

On July 18, Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to its home of Las Vegas for the long-awaited hundredth championship. The headline bout of the night will feature defending heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar a.k.a. "The Next Big Thing" versus Frank Mir a.k.a. "The Baddest Man on the Planet." This fight will be a rematch from UFC 81, when Lesnar, in his first Ultimate Fighting match, was defeated by Mir. Now, both of them have risen to UFC stardom, and this rematch is considered the biggest event in Ultimate Fighting history.

The two fighters have been trash-talking each other while they await their dual. MMA Fanhouse reports that Mir said getting hit by Lesnar was "kind of like having your baby sister on your back and all over you, and you're just saying, 'Get off me.'" Lesnar told HDNet's Inside MMA that Mir won a "make-believe belt" in his victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the interim heavyweight title last year. "He is the former champion but there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. I'm the current champion."

Lesnar has a significant physical advantage over Mir, weighing 20 pounds more and having a larger reach, and will try to overpower his opponent. His preferred style is wrestling and trying to pound whoever he is fighting into the mat. However, his defense is still a question mark; Mir's good technique could exploit it. The Baddest Man on the Planet, who says he has fully recovered from arthroscopic knee surgerythat kept him from fighting in UFC 98,  is on a hot streak, winning his last three bouts. His jujitsu technique could capitalize on Lesnar's suspect defense.

Lesnar will have to avoid making any big mistakes that Mir could take advantage of. If he is able to wear him down early, Lesnar could use his brute strength to win the match. But don't expect this one to be done early; I expect this to be a tough, grind-it-out fight. I think Lesnar's power will be too much for the more technical Mir in UFC 100. All the hype and trash-talk won't be for nothing; this should be a great fight, and I'm looking forward to it.

(image h/t: cyberaxis.wordpress.com)