“This one is for the grandchildren.”

There wasn’t a bomb threat called in, but the K1/EXC show this Saturday almost got canceled. From fighters failing medical exams to promoters not getting their license till the last moment (seriously, who books a 90,000 seat stadium without getting their promoter’s license?), all signs pointed towards the joint show being canceled or radically altered. But, the MMA gods saw fit to bless those hardcore faithful that planned to attend, and the show will go on – though it did get altered. It is a joint event, with K1 putting on a PPV that will also be broadcast in Japan. Prior to the K1 show, Showtime and EXC are set to broadcast their own program, in part hyping the PPV, and in part keeping with their commitment to make Showtime the pay-channel home for MMA.

To me, it’s always been a one fight show: Kazushi Sakuraba v. Royce Gracie, part 2. Their first fight has been chronicled enough over the years, by me, by Dave Meltzer, by Bryan Alvarez, by you, by your grandmother, and by your grandmother’s best friend, Bernice. There’s no easier or better way to describe the fight than this: it was one of the most surreal and entertaining fights of all time, and it’s doubtful that anything like it will happen again any time soon. If two men ever do fight for 90 minutes, I cannot fathom it would rival Sakuraba-Gracie for entertainment value. I thought there was the chance they might rematch someday, but I would have never predicted it would take place in America, let alone at the enormous LA Coliseum. When news broke, I cast aside any pretenses of journalistic integrity (the little I have) and acted like a child on Christmas. When reports came out that the show was in jeopardy, I reacted like that child would if he ran down the stairs on December 25th and found that the tree had caught fire and all the presents were ash.

I’ve long been an ardent supporter and fan of Sakuraba. Pound for pound, for my money, there’s no greater fighter that has ever competed in MMA – and yes, that includes Fedor. I have watched him beat men 30-50 pounds heavier, sometimes with ease, but always with grace, skill, and flair. Yet, when I first heard he’d be coming to the States, I didn’t believe it. California has some of the strictest guidelines for licensing fighters and I felt that after years of abuse, both in and out of the ring (he is a notorious drinker and smoker), the odds of Saku passing a physical were slim and none. At times, Sakuraba has looked like he wasn’t fit to walk up a flight of stairs, let alone fight. I’ve seen him in bouts where his legs were so taped up he could barely bend his knees. I’ve seen him take dozens of unanswered punches to the face, most times from fighters that significantly outweighed him. There were times when an objective jury would have looked at fight footage and – upon seeing the sickening amount of punishment he was allowed to endure – found that the only reason the fight continued was because the referee must have had a personal vendetta against the Japanese star. And yet, earlier this week, the state of California said Sakuraba was good to go. What’s that? Our family has TWO Christmas trees, and underneath the second one were the real presents!

In the year of the upset, Sakuraba being licensed may be the biggest.

I don’t go to this show expecting a reprise of their first contest; I carry no pretenses that this will be fight of the year. I largely expect the fight to go like this: Gracie will prove unable to take Sakuraba to the mat, Sakuraba won’t really be able to kick Gracie (the key to Saku’s victory the first time around), but the former PRIDE star will be able to throw his wild punches with enough effectiveness that Gracie is dropped a few times (though never knocked out) and the fight ends with Sakuraba winning by unanimous decision. If the fighters weren’t name Sakuraba and Gracie, I think I’d probably be bored by what I will see, but they are, so I won’t be.

The only question remaining for Sakuraba-Gracie is will Armanda Garcia suspend Sakuraba if he’s too entertaining?

There were two other matches of intrigue going into the show, but one has been called off. Gina Carnano’s fight was canceled due to her falling ill, possible contracting something while in Thailand. It’s a shame, because with the mainstream media getting behind the UFC, she’s on the precipice of becoming MMA’s version Danica Patrick and it would’ve been nice to see her fight. Showtime must be devastated that she won’t be fighting, as they built their portion of the show around her appearance. With Antonio Silva being denied a license, EXC is now left with, uh, Jonathan Wiezorek v. Tim Persey. Wait, who?

The other match was the MMA debut of Brock Lesnar. He was to be taking on Choi Hong-man (Choi is his last name, for those that have asked), but Choi failed his medical examine. The screening process found an abnormality in his pituitary gland, and as a result the CSAC refused to license him. Choi is replaced by Kim Min-soo (again, Kim is his last name – shocking, I know, for a man from Korea). Kim is an elite-level Judoka who hasn’t had any success in MMA. In some respects, he’s a far more difficult opponent for Lesnar than the 7-foot tall Choi. With Choi, it was largely expected that Lesnar could take him down and work without worry. Lesnar had to worry about Choi’s punching prowess, but it was a fight that played to Brock’s strengths. Kim, though, is likely must better than Lesnar at the submission game and his takedowns are unorthodox enough that they may give the former NCAA heavyweight champion trouble. Kim has also had the experience of having fought in MMA and K1. Though he’s no striker, not by any stretch of the imagination, Kim’s benefited from actually throwing punches in a fight. If I’m Lesnar, after preparing for one opponent and then being given someone that is almost the exact opposite, I’m not a happy camper. Lucky for the South Dakotan, he can take out his anger on Kim.

Despite the potential that no one shows up to the arena, no one buys the PPV, and no one watches on Showtime, the fallout from this show may have a lasting impact on the MMA world. Lesnar is under a one-fight deal with FEG (K1) and an impressive win would easily make him the most sought after free agent on the market. There would be no fighter, not Matt Lindland, not Fedor, not anyone, that could instantly garner the kind of attention of Lesnar. With the exception of the top UFC stars, there is no fighter in MMA with more North American name value than Lesnar. His crossover appeal to the sizable pro wrestling audience that followed him for years in WWE is incredibly valuable. Every company will want him and I’d say that right now, the potential of Randy Couture v. Brock Lesnar for the UFC heavyweight title is a minimum of 1 million PPV buys. I don’t know who is going to make money off tomorrow’s show, but Lesnar may end up the winner in the end.

The hardcore fans may be entertained by Nam Phan taking Gesias Calvancanti, and the results of Lesnar’s MMA debut may be the most important, but when the hands on the clock land to signal that Sunday has arrived, I shall be happy because it means that one day I’ll get to tell my grandchildren, “I saw Sakuraba fight.” {plug}