On Saturday, August 9th, heavyweight sensation Brock Lesnar returns to his home state of Minnesota to show his fans the explosive MMA game that has the entire fight world buzzing as he competes in a featured bout on the UFC 87: Seek and Destroy card at Target Center.
But his opponent that night, Heath Herring, doesn’t plan on making this a happy homecoming for the former NCAA wrestling champion, and with his resume, “The Texas Crazy Horse” has got the tools to determine whether Lesnar, the former WWE superstar, has got what it takes to compete at the UFC’s elite level.
Herring (28-13, 1 no contest) replaces UFC hall of famer Mark Coleman, who was forced to withdraw from the UFC 87 bout due to a knee injury.
Some pundits believe that Herring may be an even more dangerous matchup for Lesnar (1-1), who followed up his debut win in mixed martial arts last June with an exciting battle against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 81 in February. In that fight, Lesnar – showing his stellar wrestling skills – took Mir to the canvas immediately and appeared to be moments away from victory before the jiu-jitsu wizard submitted the Minneapolis-St.Paul resident. Disappointed but not deterred, Lesnar went right back into the gym to prepare for August’s bout, and he promises to be better than ever for his hometown fans.
Despite only being 30 years old, Herring is an 11-year veteran of the sport who has made the transition from PRIDE superstar in Japan to UFC heavyweight contender. A well-rounded battler who has been in with the best in the game, including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (three times), Mirko Cro Cop, Vitor Belfort, and Igor Vovchanchyn, Herring is coming off his biggest UFC win to date, a three round victory over Cheick Kongo in March, and he knows that a win over Lesnar will move him closer to a world title shot.
UFC 87 is headlined by the UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Georges St-Pierre and Jon Fitch, and the highly-anticipated lightweight showdown between Kenny Florian and Minnesota’s own Roger Huerta. Tickets are on sale now.
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