People who watch Friday's fight between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem will not want to be late. It's not going to be a long fight.
Heavyweight fights in MMA don't tend to go very long to begin with. There's no reason to believe that this one will buck that trend.
Lesnar has had some health issues since his last fight, but he's back in a big way. He enters the bout with Overeem at a ripped 266 pounds. He's not going to lack anything in this bout. Lesnar will be at full strength, ready to brawl.
So will Overeem.
Lesnar has the slight edge in weight, but Overeem is officially in at 263 pounds. That's significant because throughout his career, Overeem has never weighed in bigger. And like Lesnar, the extra weight is pure muscle.
What all of this means is that these two are ready. Neither man is entering the fight overlooking the other. Both fighters are in tremendous shape.
This will be a brawl. It will not be a long one, but we're going to see plenty of action. It will be hard hitting and violent.
Fans of MMA are going to enjoy this fight. There's not going to be a lot of wasted action in this fight. The reason is that if either Lesnar or Overeem let up for as much as one second, the other will be ready to pounce and win.
The key to this fight will be the opening 15-20 seconds. Given his layoff and last fight, it's hard to imagine Lesnar doing anything but coming out quick, looking to end it quick, or at least earn a clear, early upper hand.
If Overeem can withstand that and get Lesnar off balance, he'll win it quick. If Lesnar does stay on balance and lands some early shots, he'll win his return fight.
I am not predicting a 20-second fight, but this won't be much longer than about two minutes. Lesnar will get out early and land a solid punch. He'll spend the rest of the fight on top, emerging victorious.
Prediction: Lesnar via first round knockout
