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“I don’t think I deserve anything. I was asked if I wanted a title shot against Randy Couture and I accepted it. I don’t think that I deserve anything…. This is an opportunity and I’m going to seize the moment and try and take that title away tomorrow night…. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I understand that. If there was any other heavyweight in the division that was asked for this opportunity they probably would have also not turned the opportunity down.”

– Brock Lesnar tells ESPNs “First Take” this morning that he is merely taking advantage of an opportunity that was presented to him to challenge Randy Couture for his heavyweight title. With just three professional mixed martial arts bouts to his credit, including an average record inside the Octagon (1-1), several people questioned the decision to grant him a world title shot so soon in his career. But this is a business and UFC President Dana White and all the others at Zuffa know that, deserving or not, Lesnar is going to put butts in seats at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15. It’s good to see Lesnar is under no illusions and that he is shooting straight from the hip. Who can blame him …he makes a valid point.

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Here’s a main card bout we have not talked much about:

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Props: Flex magazine

Note that this edition is now on newstands … just in time for the UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” clash on November 15. To check out the cover click here.

On a side note, interesting play on words here with “Fight for the Ages.” Lesnar recently conducted an interview during which he indicates that Father Time has finally caught up with Couture. To check out a side-by-side comparison of Couture click here.

What say you … has Couture taken a turn for the worse during his 12-month layoff?

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Check out two videos of “The Natural” after the jump.

Watch Randy Couture trains for UFC 91: Couture Vs Lesnar on RawVegas.tv

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Check out a video of Lesnar after the jump.

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It appears that the UFC 91 hype train has finally left the station … better late than never:

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The legal team that represents Brock Lesnar recently filed paperwork with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), requesting that referee Steve Mazzagatti be removed from consideration as the man who will be in charge of the action during the main event at UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15.

Mazzagatti officiated Lesnar’s Octagon debut against Frank Mir at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” earlier this year.

In the opening seconds of the heavyweight bout, Lesnar stormed the former champion and began to maul him with a flurry of strikes. It appeared that Lesnar was on his way to an impressive technical knockout victory; however, the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star landed several questionable — and according to Mazzagatti — illegal blows to the back of the head.

As a result, the action was stopped and Lesnar was docked one point. And when the action restarted Mir survived another blitzkrieg and locked in a fight-ending submission (kneebar) just 91 seconds into the match.

Of course, several fans blamed Mazzagatti and his ruling for the result rather than Lesnar and his inability to defend submissions and/or land legal blows. Regardless, when all was said and done, it was perhaps the most hectic and crazy minute and a half of action inside the Octagon in all of 2008.

So now that Lesnar is paired against heavyweight champion Randy Couture in what is being billed the “biggest fight in UFC history,” he apparently does not want to take any chances with Mazzagatti making the same alleged “mistake” twice and affecting the outcome of his fight.

That’s just fine according to the mustached wonder.

“I’m [not offended] at all,” Mazzagatti said in a recent interview with Dave Farra that is now up on YouTube.com. “He’s a professional — they’re both professionals — and they have to do what they have to do. It’s fine with me. I’m going to enjoy watching the fight”

Talk about taking the high road.

Sherdog.com recently reported that in addition to Mazzagatti, “Herb Dean, Josh Rosenthal and Mario Yamasaki were under consideration to officiate the Couture-Lesnar match.”

NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer — who praised Mazzagatti for his work inside the Octagon on February 2 — eventually granted the request from Lesnar. Yamasaki is now the man in charge, which hopefully means that Lesnar can now focus 100 percent on Couture come fight night.

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Props: The Sun

Quoteworthy:

“It’s such an interesting fight [between UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar] because Couture is so good at coming up with plans for finding weaknesses in guys’ games and exposing them. But Lesnar’s such a different animal, this guy is so big, so strong and so fast at that weight it’s just phenomenal. For what he lacks in technique and knowledge, he makes up for in size, speed and power. Lesnar could go on to be the best heavyweight and the longest-reigning heavyweight — who knows what could happen with him.”

UFC President Dana White feels that former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Brock Lesnar could be “The Next Big Thing” the heavyweight division. So much so, in fact, that he has inserted his pay-per-view (PPV) cash cow into a title fight against recent hall of fame inductee and reigning heavyweight champion, Randy Couture, with just three professional bouts to his credit. The duo will main event the UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15. The size difference between the two fighters is perhaps as great as the experience level, providing an interesting hook for the showdown that will determine what attribute is more important when fists start flying.

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Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

“I didn’t like that they put Brock Lesnar against Randy Couture. I think that it would be fair to put ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira against Couture — it had to be a fight between these two. Despite having been champion once, I’ve not found it fair that Frank Mir is fighting for the belt. I had two great victories where I was very superior to my opponents, Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera. I’ve won by myself — not the judges. So I think I would be the one to fight against ‘Minotauro’ or Couture, the winner between the two of them, for the belt. I’ve imagined that I would fight for the title in March. Let’s see what will happen. I hope to do my part fighting against ‘Cigano.’ I won’t underestimate him. I will win. It will be by knockout or a finish. I won’t give any opportunity for bad luck.”

Top heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum — who recently scored consecutive wins over Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga — thinks it may have been unfair that Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir leapfrogged him as participants in the mini heavyweight title tournament that the promotion has put together to declare an undisputed division champion. Of course, Lesnar (former WWE superstar) and Mir (former champion) have bigger money-making potential than the relatively obscure (to the masses) and under marketed Brazilian. Werdum recently indicated that he was promised a title shot when he extended his contract. He’ll apparently have to wait. In the meantime, he will take on Octagon newcomer Junior “Cigano” dos Santos at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” this Saturday in Rosemont, Ill., during a televised main card pay-per-view (PPV) bout.

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