Can Brock Lesnar Beat Frank Mir Standing Up

This is the million dollar question: Can Brock Lesnar, a man that hurt both Heath Herring and Randy Couture on his feet in recent encounters, defeat Frank Mir in a striking battle at UFC 100? If he can, that could spell lion-sized trouble for Mir in their upcoming bout. Especially considering that Lesnar's superior wrestling will no doubt allow him to dictate where the fight takes place.

The last time these two mixed it up at UFC 81, Lesnar's sheer size seemed to throw Mir off on his feet. That said, Lesnar came out like a bull looking for the takedown and ground and pound, not jab, jab, hook. That led to Mir eventually catching him in a kneebar. Since that time, Lesnar has seemed more patient. In fact, he has actually dropped both Herring and Couture with strikes (leading to a TKO victory against Couture) since then. Of course, Mir looked better on his feet than he ever has against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92. So the question is, can Lesnar, whose striking skills appear somewhat underrated, beat Mir on his feet? Further, will he even attempt to, or will he still feel much more comfortable going to ground and pound, his bread and butter?

These could be the questions that decide this UFC 100 encounter. Remember that every time Lesnar is on the ground with Mir he's in danger of being submitted. Of course, Mir is in danger of being pummeled once they hit the canvas. Looking forward to see the game plans unfold on Saturday night.

*Photo Courtesy of Sherdog.com*