Aug. 9 is a little over a week away, but it’s not too early to gaze into the crystal ball for UFC 87: Seek and Destroy. As long as the “Octagon Girls” are inside. Mercy.

Welterweight: Georges St. Pierre (champion) vs. Jon Fitch (challenger). St. Pierre is the best there is. Fitch is capable, but moving way up in class.
Prediction: St. Pierre Pick: Fitch (+235)

Lightweight: Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta: Huerta is 6-0 in UFC and battle-tested before that. Florian is the public favorite.
Prediction: Huerta Pick: Huerta (+125)

Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring: Lesnar was beating the tar out of Frank Mir before getting sucked into a kneebar. He needs to prove himself.
Prediction: Lesnar Pick: Herring (+210)

Lightweight: Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson: Odds were pending at press time. I like Gamburyan’s judo background and his attitude.

Middleweight: Jason MacDonald vs. Demian Maia: Maia’s impressive Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills should overcome the tough Nova Scotia veteran.

Every athlete’s career has a beginning, a middle and an end. Tito Ortiz looks like he’s close to the end now.

Ortiz was the biggest name in MMA as recently as two years ago. Then he lost a chance to regain the light heavyweight championship versus Chuck Liddell, drew Rashad Evans, and lost to Lyoto Machida last month at UFC 84. By press time, Ortiz had fallen out of the Top 10 light heavyweights in the world according to the Sherdog rankings.

The “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” still has plenty of fight in him at age 33. But you can read the future on the T-shirts Ortiz wears to the octagon; against Machida, the shirt read “I Did It My Way.” This past week, Ortiz claimed in an interview with Maxim that UFC prez Dana White “made the biggest mistake of his career” by letting Ortiz “get away.” Then again, White’s career has yet to peak.

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The UFC knows how to get some bang for their buck. They’re going to pack the Target Center in Minneapolis in August when native son Brock Lesnar takes on Heath Herring in the main event.

Lesnar’s varied resume includes winning the 2000 NCAA wrestling championships as a member of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He had a short but meteoric career as a pro wrestler before trying out for the Minnesota Vikings. When that failed, Lesnar made the switch to K-1 in 2006 before signing a contract with UFC. He was a heavy favorite in his debut against Frank Mir at UFC 81; Lesnar was physically dominant but lost to a surprise Mir kneebar after just 90 seconds.

Lesnar was supposed to fight Mark Coleman at the Target, until the 43-year-old and fellow NCAA wrestling champion injured his knee while training for his comeback fight. Herring’s Sambo style might prove more difficult for Lesnar to deal with.

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