On Saturday night, a new Heavyweight champion will be crowned and the birth or re-birth of a career will happen for one particular fighter. Brock Lesnar will be looking to start a new career as a mixed martial arts fighter as he makes the crossover from entertainment-style pro wrestling to the fight game. His opponent, Frank Mir, hopes to impress the Mandalay Bay crowd by showing us a bit of the old Frank Mir that won the UFC Heavyweight title at one point.

The UFC's Heavyweight title will also be on the line as Tim Sylvia will take on former PRIDE Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. The fight has been deemed the “interim” title bout, but it seems to merely be a tactic to keep Couture within his contract limits. This should determine the real champion. The card will also feature a lightweight bout between Tyson Griffin and Gleison Tibau, a battle between middleweights Terry Martin and Marvin Eastman, and the return of Ricardo Almeida to MMA. Jeremy Horn will also make a return to the UFC in a matchup against possible contender Nathan Marquardt.

Main Event: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
Heavyweight Division

Brock Lesnar (1-0) is a complete unknown in the sport of mixed martial arts. His lone match against Min Soo Kim at K-1 Dynamite in June proved that Lesnar can at least pass guard and take down an opponent, but Kim wasn't exactly the prototypical litmus test to see if Lesnar has what it takes to be a champion. Frank Mir (10-3) could possibly be that test.

Mir is a world class jiu-jitsu practitioner with a plethora of weapons on the ground in the form of a wealth of knowledge in the submission game. That's where it ends for Frank Mir. He has the phenomenal ability to end the fight quickly once on the ground, but his standup is lacking. He isn't particularly dangerous in the striking game, and being on the ground with a much bigger, much strong Brock Lesnar could be his downfall.

Lesnar brings a wealth of wrestling credentials to the MMA world. He finished his collegiate career as a two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion, and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion, finishing with a ridiculous record of 106-5 overall. There is no doubt that he will have good takedown abilities, and it will be very tough to deal with Lesnar's strength. Lesnar also seems to be fairly light on his feet. It's been said that he has some decent striking and quick footwork, but those skills will be proven on Saturday night. Can Lesnar avoid the submission? That's the big question.

I simply can't pick Frank Mir in this fight for a few reasons. He won't be as strong as Lesnar, and Lesnar's wrestling skills will be tough to counter with the amount of power he has. Mir's standup is horrible, and it'd have to improve considerable if Lesnar is to be in danger of being knocked out. Mir has had too many lackluster performances in the past as well, and his cardio is always a question later in the fight.

Leland's Prediction: Brock Lesnar via TKO, Round 2

From the moment this fight starts, I look for Lesnar to immediately shoot on Mir and begin to work some ground-and-pound. The question that needs to be answered is this: Is Mir going to have an answer for Lesnar from his back? Many people think so, but I don’t. I think Lesnar’s strength and wrestling ability will overpower Mir.

I can guarantee you that Lesnar has been doing nothing but training submission defense and polishing up his wrestling. If I was Mir, I would think about throwing knees sporadically. He may catch Lesnar with a knee when he shoots for a takedown. However, I think there’s a slim chance that happens. Look for a stoppage in the second round from strikes.

Joe's Prediction: Brock Lesnar via TKO, Round 2

Over aggressive wrestling is not uncommon among relatively green fighters.  They stay in the danger-zone for far too long and the result is often a submission loss. Mir is vet so he’ll no doubt be relaxed entering the fight.  All the pressure is on the Lesnar as a result of his self aggrandizement, while Mir is simply on the comeback trail with the chance to fell the new kid in town. I’m going against my gut feeling, and taking Mir with a triangle-choke win.

John’s Prediction: Frank Mir via submission, Round 2
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Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Heavyweight Division

Tim Sylvia (24-3) will try to win the UFC title once again as he takes on the iron chin of Antonio Nogueira. Sylvia comes into this bout after much criticism over his win over Brandon Vera. In the bout, Sylvia and Vera both had moments in which leaning on each other was a tactic to extend the matchup and cause the crowd to boo in disapproval. Sylvia simply did what he could to win the fight, and Vera broke his hand in the first round that made his striking completely useless.

This isn't the first time Sylvia has been labeled being the cause of a boring fight. His style consists of straight jabs, some kicks, and clinches, but never any ground game. He usually tries to move in and out and rarely allows himself to get in a spot to be taken down. His main weapon in many of his fights is his physical size and reach, and it makes for some boring standup battles in which his opponents can't seem to find a way to get inside or take him down.

With that said, Nogueira has a tough task ahead of him. He has excellent jiu-jitsu skills on the ground, and has some phenomenal boxing skills on his feet. The only problem is that he will lack reach on Sylvia, and it will be hard not to take heavy blows trying to get inside on Sylvia. Unless Nogueira can work a clinch and somehow put the big man down, it's going to be a downhill battle for Nogueira in the beginning. The best chance he has is by tiring Sylvia and hopefully getting him to the floor.

Can he actually achieve that goal? I can't decide, and this is the toughest pick I've had in awhile. Nogueira has taken beatings from the best in the world. Fedor crushed him with blows, and he still managed to last. He has an iron chin, great boxing, and excellent ground tactics. I have faith that he can take down Sylvia, especially considering Vera was able to do so at least once in his fight. That may be all it takes. I'll go with the long shot.

Leland's Prediction: Antonio Nogueira via submission, Round 4

I’ve went back-and-forth on this fight the last couple of days. I’ve watched a plethora of tape on both fighters. The key to winning for Nogueira is obvious; he must get this fight to the ground. Nogueira has good boxing, but he’s going to have to work on the inside. Sylvia is going to want to stay away from Nogueira and paw at him with his jab. I can see Tim using the same style he beat Brandon Vera with. Close the distance quick with strikes and push Nogueira against the fence.

Nogueira is going to have a tough time getting inside on Tim as he doesn’t throw many hooks. He likes to throw combinations straight down the middle which leaves his opponent no room to work on the inside. If Nogueira watched any tape, he’ll know that Tim throws a lazy left jab and that he can counter that with an overhand right. I think Nogueira’s chin can keep him in the fight long enough to get Tim to the floor and submit him.

Joe's Prediction: Antonio Nogueira via submission, Round 3

I look at the two, and simply think Nogueira is a better fighter. Minotauro has better submission skills than anyone Timmy has faced (Mir included) and has also shown real susceptibility to the combination of quick hands and control on the ground.  I see this playing out much like the battle with Couture.  As the rounds wear on, the fight gets farther from Sylvia’s reach.  Minotauro grinds out a signature win.

John’s Prediction: Antonio Nogueira via unanimous decision
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See our predictions on the other matchups including Griffin vs. Tibau, Eastman vs. Martin, Horn vs. Marquardt, and the rest of the card by clicking More...

Brock Lesnar’s debut in the UFC has brought about a question that has been asked by mixed martial arts fans for some time now. Can a professional wrestler transition from an entertainment-based wrestling promotion to a real life, in-your-face martial arts promotion in which fights are battle in an eight-sided cage and a fight can be ended by a breakage? It’s the sole question that drives the UFC to create this fight, sign Lesnar to a contract, and to see if the wrestling fanbase will tune in and watch the matchup as well. It’s an interest in numbers from a business standpoint.

From a mixed martial arts fan’s standpoint, the question doesn’t add dollar signs to the equation. Instead, it offers something that many fans haven’t seen before.  A very large, intimidating, muscle-ridden wrestling monster against a black belt in jiu-jitsu with much more experience than his opponent is the matchup that is being advertised. It’s reminiscent of Gracie vs. Severn, but without the ridiculous weight difference. Mir vs. Lesnar will prove to be our modern day comparison in a smaller capacity.

The more important question is whether or not Brock Lesnar can actually win this fight. The entire MMA community seems to be split down the middle on this one. One half says that Lesnar will simply crush Mir from the top, and the other half says that Mir will transition to a submission to win the fight. In order to get a good grasp at what Brock needs to do in order to win; we can look historically at successful wrestlers in mixed martial arts.

Historical numbers

Fortunately for us, Dave Meltzer over at Yahoo! Sports dug up the dirt on the wrestling elite that have made their way into mixed martial arts. Most notably, he names off Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, “Rampage” Jackson, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, and Josh Koscheck along with a slew of other names as high level amateur wrestlers who made the transition to MMA.

The two key factors in the successful reigns of some of the sport’s elite wrestlers have been some great strategizing and the evolution of their own skillsets beyond wrestling. Couture is a master at creating gameplans that counter the exact set of skills his opponent will use. He doesn’t wait to be stuck in his opponent’s own game, but instead imposes his own gameplan on his opponent.

Other fighters have simply improved their other skills so much over time that their wrestling has become their defensive weapon. Chuck Liddell’s primary weapons are his fists, and he uses a counter-striking tactic that isn’t seen in wrestling ground and pound fighters too often. He does, however, use his wrestling ability to stuff takedowns and get himself out of jams, and did use his takedown abilities to stop Wanderlei Silva from mounting an offensive late in their matchup at UFC 79.

The main point here is that a good gameplan and a strong skillset are ideal for a wrestler in mixed martial arts. Wrestling is known as the easiest combative sport to transition from into MMA because its base skills are significantly useful to fighters in the sport. It’s an advantage. The problem is that many wrestlers who have gone on to be defeated in the cage haven’t taken the time to improve their other skills. Some wrestlers hit the Octagon without any striking training, and simply think they can takedown their opponents and thrash them. We know from experience that this doesn’t necessarily mean victory. Lesnar’s other skills will definitely make or break him in this fight.

A Tough Sell

This matchup is a tough sell for a number of reasons. Although it should sell great to the fans as it will work the angle of WWE fans wanting to see the fake entertainment wrestling icon take on real fighters, it looks like a David vs. Goliath matchup in many regards.

Lesnar has what is said to be unbelievable power. He has been lifting grown men for years above his head and dishing out what looks like immense punishment for the cameras for quite some time. Dealing with his physique alone in the cage will be a task in itself. Can Frank Mir really withstand an onslaught from Brock Lesnar and show that jiu-jitsu prevails over brute power? Is this a Royce Gracie seminar in the making?

It's very tough to tell, and the fanbase is even more split than originally thought. Many fans claim it's a cakewalk for Lesnar. Brute power with huge size on top of Mir will just crush him. Others claim that Mir just needs that one opening and one transition to end it. The fans are correct in both arguments, but which will happen first?

The X-Factor for Mir: Confidence

There is one aspect of Frank Mir that hasn't been mentioned in quite some time, and it regards his sudden turn around. Interviews that were done after his last fight indicated his new found confidence in his leg, horribly broken in a motorcycle accident back in September 2004. He also suffered massive tendon and muscle damage from the accident.

One of the comments Mir stated was that in his fight against Hardonk, it was the first time he had felt that his leg wasn't going to break at the instant a kick hit it. He wasn't scared to take a shot to his leg. According to Mir when questioned about previous fights, he mentioned that he was very unconfident in the ability of his leg to withstand a shot or submission hold.

I found these comments to be intriguing because if you watch some of the tape on those fights, it's evident that in some instances, Mir is protecting the leg and is flat footed because of it.

People make excuses, but the bigger story here is that Mir simply wasn't confident in his abilities to win. He had lackluster performances, and he took a few defeats in the process. Can Frank Mir prove to us in February that his confidence is back, and that his skills in the Octagon can defeat the Goliath? A confident Frank Mir with the amount of jiu-jitsu skill that he possesses could prove to knock off the giant.

As Tim "The Maniac" Sylvia and Brandon "The Truth" Vera faced off in a potential #1 contendership bout to determine who would reportedly face Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira, there was one man in the crowd who was not only happy about a recent deal that he had signed that would bring him into the Octagon, but also very interested in watching how the two men in the Octagon battled it out. After all, he could be fighting as soon as early next year in cage. That man was Brock Lesnar. Aside from his suit jacket that looked as if he'd come from a meat packer's convention, Lesnar's immense size was nothing to look past. For mixed martial arts fans that have never followed pro wrestling, Lesnar was a well-known World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler who is most notably known for obtaining the WWE Championship belt three times and using his special "F-5" move to finish opponents. Aside from his entertainment career, Lesnar has a plethora of wrestling credentials. We'll get into that a bit later. The real question to be asked is whether Lesnar will make a significant impact on the Heavyweight division. Will Lesnar's wrestling ability, size, and strength absolutely decimate a division full of some fairly talented fighters? Let's take a look.

Lesnar's credentials

First, I thought I'd touch on the career of Brock Lesnar without all the soap opera stories involved in his WWE career. Lesnar was a four-time All-American, a two-time Big Ten champion, and the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight champion sporting a 106-5 record in four years of college. After ending his college career, he signed with the WWE. After only two years in the wrestling entertainment business, he obtained the WWE title at only 25 from the champion at the time, The Rock. After 4 years in the organization, Lesnar left the WWE to pursue a career in the NFL. He made the team in a try out with the Minnesota Vikings. In one of the team's preseason games, he made a crushing sack of Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Damon Huard. Huard was injured on the play and actually sat out for a few series. For anybody who knows football, this is a huge no-no in preseason football. In all the controversy, Lesnar was cut from the team after a few no-shows. It was reported that he sustained some injuries in a motorcycle accident and was unable to attend practices because of it.

After trying his hand at pro football, he returned to the entertainment stage by trying to fight an event in the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. After a long feud with the WWE over a no-compete clause that stopped Lesnar from fighting in another organization, he was able to settle and compete in the Japanese wrestling promotion. Lesnar fought for two to three years in the organization before ending it in a battle with Kurt Angle. After Angle defeated Lesnar, he challenged him to a mixed martial arts fight. It has been said that both exchanged blows behind the scenes.

Before his battle with Kurt Angle in Japan, Brock Lesnar did manage to fight in his first official MMA fight against Min Soo Kim. The fight was a standard ground and pound beatdown by Lesnar, but didn't show much skill since he basically only had to throw Kim to the mat and pound him. I believe we will see more as his career progresses.

Obviously Lesnar has an extensive list of wrestling credentials that should suit him in the cage. He has been working up in Minnesota with Greg Nelson and Marty Morgan, a couple of great trainers in MMA and wrestling. It is well-known that wrestling backgrounds have been the easiest transitioning skillsets to MMA. Many of the fighters in the Miletich camp have transitioned nicely as well as a quality number of fighters in the UFC. Lesnar's physical attributes definitely pose a huge threat to any heavyweight out there. Let's get into that some more.

Is the potential endless?

Let's take a look at Lesnar's skills in the capacity of what we've seen from him. Obviously, he has an extensive wrestling background that will allow him to be devastating in the takedown game. With the amount of strength he possesses along with his overall size, he will be a load for most fighters. If you think about his wrestling career in the entertainment industry, you may think that it's pointless to include it in the assessment of his skills. It's far from that. As fake as the WWE may be, the wrestlers in the organization must be well conditioned and in great athletic shape to take the amount of damage their bodies can handle hitting the hard canvas without sustaining massive injury to their back, legs, or head. He obviously can take some hard blows. Blows to the head? That remains to be seen. Also, his power is evident in his WWE fighting. He is able to lift large amounts of weight fairly easily and that could become a key tool in the cage.

What about his striking? We have yet to see whether it will be relevant on his feet. We do know that on the ground or in the clinch, his powerful arms could prove to end bouts fairly quickly. This is exactly how he finished Min Soo Kim in their K-1 Dynamite battle. Kim tapped due to eating strikes while stuck in full mount. Without seeing any footage regarding his striking, we could make a case for the fact that his reach may be a disadvantage. Although I don't think Lesnar is the type of fighter that will be standing and trading during his bouts, he may be at a loss if he faces a fighter who has a very good takedown sprawl. Who would that fighter be? I'm not completely sure considering Lesnar's takedowns could be so devastating and powerful that it may be a lost cause trying to sprawl through them. The bigger heavyweights may have a bit more leverage though.

Another huge attribute that he has is a following from the wrestling scene. There are many fans of professional wrestling that will definitely be interested in watching him fight in the UFC. Not only will he draw some of his fanbase, but also the general population of fans that watch WWE, TNA, and the numerous other organizations out there. I'm sure Dana sees this as a great money making venture along side the fact that Lesnar could make waves in the division.

With that all said, his size and wrestling ability alone will topple alot of heavyweights. His striking will only improve with time, but I doubt he will be a fighter who wants to stand with guys. We should look forward to him making an impact in the division early next year. It'll be interesting to see who they match Lesnar up with and what will happen when he faces a fighter who has an outstanding sprawl with great standup. His PPV drawing power is fairly large in the wrestling scene and I imagine a lot of fans will be wanting to see him fight in a real MMA match. Either way we look at it, Lesnar is here to stay. Personally, I wasn't a fan of his comments when he was trying to get into the UFC. In retrospect, I realize he made those comments to spark interest. Hats off to his tactics because they worked.

In fairness to the MMA community, I received some jeers and some boos from the article about Brock Lesnar. It was some crappy writing, but it was also my view and opinion on the story. So, I'm going to take a look at some of the responses I got from it, and I actually see some of the points. First off, the comment I received regarding the fact I missed the Fedor quote. Yes, I missed it, and I am ashamed to say, I can't believe I did. I had it as a point and somehow, I didn't stick it in the article. Fedor is not in the UFC, Brock.

The main complaint was the fact that Lesnar is most likely just hyping the media in order to gain a fight, and he confirmed that notion during the weekly podcast with Sherdog.com yesterday on Beatdown with TJ Desantis. So, I will give Brock the benefit of the doubt and say that yes, I can see why you'd say those things in order to get a fight in the UFC. In actuality, that's a very smart move if you are trying to get an organization to see your potential and how many people may get excited about seeing those fights. Personally, I think the class act persona is the way to go. But if he wants to go out, start some smack talk with another fighter, or maybe he'll pull a Tito Ortiz at UFC 74 in the crowd, that's his priority.

The Gonzaga quote was pretty much wrecked by my quick typing. Gonzaga's ju-jitsu is very good, and I don't think Lesnar could deal with it on the ground. I will say that I back up the Kerr statement. Kerr's health over the years including the recent GFC 1 suspension has always been in question, but if you actually watch some of the later fights, he begins to take huge face shots, and his dominant wrestling falters due to the fact that he is wobbly from the blows. I think once the first guy was able to do that, a domino effect occurred because guys later he fought saw that tape, and were able to use it against him. Kerr didn't adapt, and that's why he began to lose. His age and health didn't help obviously, but look at Randy Couture. He plans out a gameplan and executes it. What's to say Mark Kerr couldn't do the same thing?

Also, add Dan Henderson to the list of wrestlers who have more dominant credentials than Brock Lesnar. The final hit on this topic is this, I will give commendations to Brock Lesnar for being smart enough to actually make an attempt to get himself signed. Kudos to that, but I think the best way to get signed is to take some fights, and win dominantly like you did against Min Soo Kim.

I was hoping I would never have to hear about Brock Lesnar again after news surfaced that he was dealing with pro wrestling agents after the MMA bout he had with Min Soo Kim on June 2nd at the K-1 Dynamite Show. But.. Brock just couldn't help himself. He popped up in my internet browser claiming all sorts of unimaginable feats that he was going to force onto the MMA community. Lesnar interviewed with MMAWeekly and was stated as wanting to fight MMA now, not pro wrestle. He said that many of the MMA organizations have been "playing games" and that he's tired of it.

We're playing the games, but I'm tired of playing games,” stated Lesnar. “It's time for somebody to make a move. I'm going to go down to the UFC and see what the hell is going on down there.

Well, Lesnar.. here's a little information on what's "going on down there". Basically, we have a huge heavyweight division that would literally manhandle your steroid-ridden size and barebone MMA skills, yet you are still asking for a gigantic contract. Now, I'm assuming you are asking for a big contract. I could be wrong, but considering you are not signed yet by any organization and now you are publicly coming out with ridiculous statements, it's either you are trying to get more hype and money or nobody wants you. I wish it was the latter because I don't think you are worth our time, but I'm sure a lot of organizations want to see you fight again.

Asked if he has talked to UFC President Dana White about his interest in competing in the Octagon, Lesnar answered, "We've spoken. I cannot deny or confirm anything. I'm just telling you this, I'm going to be there Saturday night and I'm looking for a win. I don't care who it is. If I had to fight somebody, I'd like to fight Randy [Couture]. I'll fight [Gabriel] Gonzaga. We'll see what happens."

So, he wants to fight Randy or Gonzaga. Listen Lesnar, if you actually trained, you may have a chance against someone like Couture who runs off pure cardio and has some damn good wrestling skills. Your pure strength may actually beat him, and Gonzaga, until he proves his ju-jitsu is for real, may not stand a chance. But right now, both of these guys would probably destroy you in the ring. I can only see you charging like a bulldog right into a clinch and being outsmarted.

Questioned if the UFC is where he'd like to eventually compete, Lesnar responded, "The UFC, they're the big dogs on the street, obviously. You've got Randy Couture, who he's definitely going to be past his prime here. You've got Fedor [Emelianenko]. There's nobody out there that is unbeatable. Okay? All the media builds Fedor into this great monster. Well, every monster has his day. “There isn't a guy like me walking around that can do the things that I do. These guys, they don't know. Let's put it this way, in college, or everywhere that I've gone, everybody has said that I'm one strong son-of-a-bitch, and that's what I am, and I'm able to back it up. "

Ugh... everyone says I'm one strong son-of-a-bitch, big deal. Everyone says Wanderlei Silva hits like a damn truck, and people say Couture is amazingly strong as well. What difference does it make? I guarantee you that in most of Fedor's fights, mainly against Hammerhouse guys like Coleman, he was outpowered and still managed to easily submit his opponent. Fact is, it's skill that wins these battles. Butterbean got tapped by Minowa. That's a true David vs. Goliath battle. Butterbean didn't know anything about ju-jitsu though. The best line in this entire quote is "All the media builds Fedor into this great monster.". Lesnar, seriously, this isn't the god damn WWE. You don't run around town screaming like you are having a roid rage making up fake subplots. The media doesn't have to build up Fedor. His damn resume speaks for itself.

"I enjoyed watching Randy beat the sh*t out of Tim Sylvia. I enjoyed that. I mean take a look at this guy, Tim Sylvia, the guy’s feet; they're damn near webbed. He looks like the Swamp Thing. The guy is a vulture. He can't wrestle worth a crap. He's got a jab and a little right hand. There's no way. I'd double-leg his a** right through that cage so fast, and that would be the end of the fight. I'm tired. I'm tired of this. Brock Lesnar wants to fight somebody, somebody with credentials, and Tim Sylvia ain't the guy."

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of Tim Sylvia either, but publicly talking shit about a guy who was UFC Heavyweight Champion is downright rude. Look at Randy Couture, he's an ambassador to the sport, soft-spoken, does great interviews, signs autographs, the works, and is NEVER a jerk to anybody in the media, opponents, or fellow MMA fighters. He's a true sport in every aspect of MMA. But then you have assholes like Brock Lesnar who acts like a little high school girl calling people out and saying they "suck" because he isn't getting what he wants, an MMA contract. Quit being a rude jerkoff. If you want to seriously fight MMA, fight some damn fights and prove you can hang. My guess is that if you ever run into the top guys, somebody like Fedor will literally rip your arm off.

On an ending note, I noticed he stated that nobody has his credentials in MMA. What kind of farce statements is that? Let's look at your credentials, Brock. Hmmm... oh look, you won some shitty fake wrestling championships in Japan. Wow, the IGWP fake WWE of Japan title, just like WWE - video. I'll say this, it takes some incredible physical attributes to do what you do in Pro Wrestling, but it's not MMA. People are really hitting you. I see Lesnar being another Mark Kerr. He may be able to stomp the crap out of a lot of guys, but people are going to start figuring out that hitting you in the face is the way to beat you. I think it'll be quicker than Kerr though. Kerr went for years without dealing with huge competition. I think people will definitely go for the throat on Lesnar right off the bat with heavy hands to his head. Back on point, you have a NCAA championship. So does Josh Koscheck, so what? I would say Mark Coleman has higher credentials as well. He has a NCAA championship, and he placed 7th at the Barcelona Summer Games. It's ridiculous how much non-factual crap comes out of this guy's mouth. Anyways, that's a bit of a rant, but I'm kind of sick of this guy just strutting around staking all these horribly bad claims. I actually want to see Lesnar get a deal. To Dana White, get Lesnar now so someone can shut him up.

Please note that this article is a rant. Yeah, yeah, rants aren't great for factual statements. There are some statements that are that of my own opinions.  It's an opinion piece people, laugh a little.