At Sunday's WWE "Great Balls of Fire" pay-per-view, Samoa Joe challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship. It's the first title defense for Lesnar since he won the belt from Goldberg at "WrestleMania 33" back in early April. The match will also mark the first time these two superstars have met in the ring but not the first time they've crossed paths. Joe and Lesnar have been involved in several altercations over the past month on episodes of WWE "Raw." Here's the latest Samoa Joe vs. Brock Lesnar match preview including the prediction based on the odds for the favorite to win on Sunday.

Match buildup

Back at the WWE "Raw" exclusive pay-per-view, "Extreme Rules," a Fatal 5-Way match was held to determine who would be No. 1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship. The match featured Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, and Samoa Joe. "The Destroyer" would work in tandem with Bray Wyatt for a bit, but the two would eventually go at it. Later on, Finn Balor would take control of things and ended up putting down Roman Reigns for a pinfall. However, the savvy Samoa Joe grabbed Finn in a Coquina Clutch with nobody else in sight to make a save. Once Balor had faded out, Joe was declared the winner and new No. 1 contender.

Brock Lesnar defeated Goldberg back at "WrestleMania 33" via pinfall to capture the Universal title.

He's held the belt ever since. His advocate Paul Heyman appeared on "Raw" to talk about the upcoming match involving his client and Samoa Joe. However, "The Destroyer" made an appearance in the ring. In what looked to be an amicable meeting at first with a handshake, Joe would turn things around, delivering a message to Brock by locking the Coquina Clutch on Heyman.

A week later, Brock Lesnar showed up to call out Joe, who came right to the ring to battle him. Eventually, other superstars from backstage would arrive down to break the two superstars apart. Things got even more heated in recent weeks as Brock Lesnar was introduced by Paul Heyman from the ring. Lesnar did his entrance onto the stage but was suddenly attacked by Samoa Joe.

After a Coquina Clutch was applied, the champ eventually turned purple. Officially were able to get Joe away, but by then, Lesnar had felt the effects of his upcoming opponents dangerous submission move.

Who will win?

Based on what has taken place on WWE's "Monday Night Raw" over the past month this will be an absolute battle of two behemoths in the ring. Both superstars have brute force as part of their skill set, but also have their own special submission holds. Brock has not used the Kimura Lock for some time now, relying mostly on the Suplex and F5 to destroy opponents.

The two competitors will meet Sunday in what could be the main event at "Great Balls Of Fire." The Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is expected to retain, based on the odds.

Samoa Joe is currently listed at Paddy Power as a large 17 to 2 underdog, while the champion is a 1 to 25 favorite to leave the pay-per-view still the champion.

If Joe overcomes the odds it could be a shocker, as he would capture the Universal Championship for the first time in his WWE career.
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