by Tim Furious, BETUS.COM – BET NOW

In the next few days, the hype surrounding the stacked card of UFC 100 will be broken down by yours truly. But for now, what I’m focusing on is the young career of the UFC phenom, Brock Lesnar, who will look to unify his heavyweight championship with the interim belt held by the one man who has beaten him in the UFC – Frank Mir. Brock is the heavy favorite at -240, but that doesn’t mean squat in the UFC, where literally anything can happen.

Frank Mir is one of the best ring tacticians, and looked untouchable against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92. He was dominated by Brock at their bout at UFC 81, but was able to go from an arm-bar attempt in to a kneebar which caused Lesnar to submit. Lesnar will be looking for revenge for his lone loss in a young UFC career.

Brock Lesnar is the biggest beast in the UFC’s shallow heavyweight division, standing at 6-foot-4 and tipping the scales at 265 pounds. Don’t be fooled, this guy’s all muscle and energy. A bottomless desire to win, coupled with a ferocious training regimen, has put Lesnar at the top of the heap. But a 3-1 SU UFC record is that of a young and developing career that has not bee properly tested. The lack of competition in the UFC’s heavyweight division created a void that Lesnar’s immense frame filled quickly.

Dana White has been looking for fighter’s to push the UFC, and mixed martial arts overall, in to the mainstream, and he deems Lesnar as one of those athletes. Lesnar has always been a physical specimen, and a talented stud to boot, throughout his ventures as a Division I wrestling champion and as a WWE Superstar. When you’re good enough to walk on to the Minnesota Vikings defensive line, despite being a late cut, you’re a freak of an athlete, and just the type of personality that a guy like Dana White craves for.

Lesnar was already famous when he stomped in to the UFC, due to his tenure as a megastar in the WWE with Vince McMahon. So Dana White saw an opportunity and took it, banking on Couture-Lesnar to demand the press it deserved. The ploy worked ,with Lesnar and Couture fielding interviews on high-profile outlets like ESPN.com and FoxSports.com. Lesnar’s victory catapulted him in to the spotlight, and now he’s the highlight of a division that so desperately needed a champion.

But White has to be careful because, despite Lesnar’s incredible talent and potential, he’s still 31 years-old and Mir has made it a habit of dismantling opponents. An injury to Lesnar would set the heavyweight division reeling. That’s not to say that Mir isn’t a deserving champion, he’s just not the mainstream media darling a promoter like Dana White prefers.

The other problem with this fight is that if Mir loses, Lesnar then stands alone atop a mountain looking for challengers. Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez seem to be a tier below Mir and Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko doesn’t fight on the same continent but if they could make that fight happen, what a match it would be.

Dana White has a goldmine in Lesnar, and he knows it. But a lack of competition past Mir has to have UFC fans deterred as to how the heavyweight division moves on past this fight. If Lesnar loses, or his injured, it will collapse a career-in-the-making, and if he wins, then who the hell fights him next? Lesnar is an undeniable beast in the ranks of the UFC, but he’s still only four fights in to his young UFC career. Treating that career properly, and capitalizing on the aging Lesnar’s career, is a huge concern for White.

Lesnar’s ceiling is massive, but any competitor knows that you are only as good as the competition you face. Mir is the haunting figure in Brock’s career, and the talented big man has enough to take the monstrous Lesnar down at UFC 100. To say that this is the biggest fight in Lesnar’s career is an understatement, but it’s a little silly considering it’s only his fifth fight.

You can check out our UFC 100 odds in the sportsbook, but check back to the Locker Room for more UFC 100 updates and breakdowns as we inch closer to the mega card!