PAUL HEYMAN has heaped praised on Brock Lesnar by insisting his former protégé is a bigger star than Fedor Emelianenko.

The former WWE wrestler faces returning heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 91 in November — and Heyman reckons that clash is bigger than any the UFC could put on involving the Russian MMA legend.

Couture is desperate to fight Emelianenko inside the Octagon to determine who is the world's No1 heavyweight.

But Heyman insists his fight with Lesnar is a greater draw.

The SunSport columnist said: "On a lot of levels it's strictly a business move. Lesnar v Couture is worth far more money than Couture v Fedor.

"Fedor is not a pay-per-view draw. He did not draw that well in Japan. He's rightfully respected as the best in the world, but he hasn't been marketed properly, and isn't charismatic enough on his own to sells tickets and pay per views.

"Lesnar IS and he has the whole wrestling fan base that is dying to see him do something.

"So Lesnar is a far bigger star than Fedor. I'm not saying he's a better fighter than Fedor — I wouldn't want to put Brock in a cage against him because I think Fedor would annihilate Brock at this stage.

"But who draws more money? The answer is Brock Lesnar. This is by far the biggest fight the UFC could ever put together.

"This is a death blow to (MMA brand) Affliction. All they have now is a bunch of fighters they can feed to Emelianenko.

"And look at Elite XC — they're crumbling — CBS is looking to throw them off TV. Make no mistake, this is a HUGE move by the UFC.

"Even if Lesnar loses and it hurts his marketability, so what? They just killed their competition.

"To the UFC, killing their competition is as important as preserving themselves.

"It's the Vince McMahon mentality — taking a step back to hurt their own draw if it means knocking out their opponent and taking two steps forward.

"The UFC want a 100 per cent market share and if they have to sacrifice Lesnar or Couture or Mir or Nogueira or whoever to get there, they will do it — they don't care.

"The problem with anyone who wants to go up against the UFC — be it Donald Trump, Mark Cuban or whoever — is that MMA is a 24-7 sharp-skilled game of survival.

"It's like in the wrestling business with anyone who wants to go up against McMahon. You want to go up against him? Then it's 24-7. You're going to devote your life to fighting the WWE.

"And it's the same in the MMA game — if you want to put on a few fights when they become available and make a small pay day then fine.

"But if you want to take on the UFC, you've got to go in 24-7.

"This whole deal with Couture is going to produce a domino effect which will see the UFC lock in either him going for the undisputed title or Lesnar going for it.

"If it's Lesnar v Nogueira, that's another big-money match. If it's Lesnar v Mir then that’s the rematch all of Brock's fans want to see.

"If Couture gets by Lesnar, the UFC will hurt Lesnar's marketability but he has nowhere to go.

"Affliciton is doomed and so is Elite XC — the only fight he would have is Kimbo Slice and Lesnar would KILL him."

Lesnar's fight with Couture will top the bill on November 15 and Heyman is tipping the 31-year-old to become the best heavyweight on the planet.

Heyman added: "Brock's a killing machine. He's an angry, nasty, vicious, sadistic human being.

"He likes to go hunting and when he kills animals he likes to rip them apart with his bare hands. He's a brutal human being.

"He's a scary guy — a Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Hills Have Eyes type of guy. Brock likes violence.

"He's very excited, he wants to be the best fighter in the world and his improvement is just amazing to watch.

"If he continues to improve at the pace he is, he'll be the best heavyweight in the world.

"He's hungry to do it — he wants it really, really badly."