On Nov. 15, 2008 then UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture passed the torch. That night the man who perhaps will be remembered as the best fighter to ever enter the octagon was stopped in two rounds by current champion Brock Lesnar. Many thought Couture would call it a career, but like he has time and again, "The Natural" is out to prove us all wrong once again.

The 46 year-old former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion enters the octagon Saturday night to square off against another MMA legend in Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira in UFC 102's main event. The winner sets himself up for a shot at Lesnar's belt although Couture acknowledges the heavyweight division is pretty deep these days.

"The division is in a good state," Couture said. "You got Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, Frank Mir is still in the mix, and of course Lesnar is walking around as champion. There's a lot of guys, but I think beating Noguiera would be huge, and the winner should be the No. 1 contender."

Getting another shot at Lesnar would not be a shocker, or far fetched for Couture. At 45, Couture (16-9) gave the gargantuan Lesnar all that he could handle. Many believe Couture won the first round that night, but in round two he was caught with a right behind the ear; a barrage of punches later, the fight was over. If given the opportunity, Couture would do everything exactly the same, except now he knows something about Lesnar he wasn't aware of then.

"He was longer that I expected," Couture recalls. "When we were standing up, he had a big reach. The next time around I have to establish the proper range. I did a lot of things right in that fight though. I didn't do anything wrong except get caught. I was dominating Lesnar until that point."

Before he can even start thinking of a rematch with Lesnar, Couture has to take care of business against Nogueira (31-5-1).

The 33 year-old "Minotauro" was the best heavyweight in PRIDE until losing his belt to Fedor Emelianenko. He's a Brazilian ju jitsu expert who can make any fighter tap out with an armbar, triangle choke, guillotine or rear-naked choke. When he takes his opponent to the ground, any of these locks can come out of nowhere.

"I'm going to make it difficult for him to take me down," Couture said. "I'm going to be in his face all night, but if he takes me down I got a few things prepared for him."

Couture remembers when he was dominating the UFC and Nogueira was doing the same in Japan, some pundits would speak of this dream battle between the two.

"Nogueira is a great fighter," Couture said. "I've been watching him for a long time. He's a fighter that I've always admired. I've been looking forward to competing with him for a long time."

One of the fights Couture watched was Mir's two-round destruction of Nogueira. In that fight, the Brazilian looked flat and at fight's end was a severely beaten man. Couture doesn't expect that same "Minotauro" on Saturday.

"I"m sure in that fight against Mir he was bothered that he was fighting a southpaw, and I also heard he wasn't feeling well; something wasn't right," Couture said. "I'm not going to factor in that performance at all. I'm expecting the best Nogueira Saturday night."

Aside from the fact that a win puts him back into title contention, Couture is also excited to be fighting in Portland, Ore. A native of Everett, Wash., Couture lived in Oregon for 13 years and was an assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State University. The UFC Hall-of-Famer is elated to be fighting in the Northwest.

"I get to fight in front of my hometown fans," Couture said. "I'm excited they'll get to see me Saturday night. It's been a long time coming."

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