Anyone who saw Brock Lesnar dismantle legendary MMA fighter Randy Couture in Saturday’s UFC heavyweight title bout probably had a thought: “Good lord, who can beat this man?”

For an answer, look no further than Patriots guard Stephen Neal.

Long before Neal won a Super Bowl or Lesnar an Ultimate Fighting title, the two wrestled collegiately.

They met in the finals of the 1999 NCAA tourney, where Cal-State Bakersfield’s Neal defended his heavyweight title against Minnesota’s hulking junior college transfer, who had wowed Div. 1 with his prodigious strength.

Yesterday, Neal and Lesnar reflected on the 1999 bout that Neal won 3-2.

“He was just this big, strong, powerful man the wrestling world hadn’t seen,” Neal said before Patriots practice. “He was so big and strong, you didn’t want to make a mistake against him.”

Lesnar returned the compliment. “The kind of athlete Stephen was, we were men amongst boys,” he said by phone.

Neal was the storied champ with unbelievable quickness who would win U.S. Open and World Championships. Lesnar was the upstart transfer from Bismarck State who possessed awe-inspiring power. He knew he faced a tall order.

“I literally had about three months of wrestling at the Div. 1 level and the next thing I knew I was the Big Ten champ in the NCAA finals against returning national champion Stephen Neal,” Lesnar said. “I didn’t even know what was going on until it was over. It was a whirlwind. I didn’t have time to be scared or nervous. I just figured, ‘Well, I’m beating everyone else, I don’t know why I can’t beat this guy.’ But I came up a little short.”

Both men remember the match well. Lesnar powered out of Neal’s early single-leg attempt before shooting for a double-leg takedown of his own. Neal spun deftly away for the two-point reversal and it was game on.

“I think I surprised him a little when he attempted that takedown and was unsuccessful,” Lesnar said. “I had overpowered him and muscled my way out of it.”

They wrestled tentatively thereafter and Neal broke a 2-2 tie with an escape in the final period.

“I thought he was going to be attacking because if he won, his team would have won,” Neal said. “I miscalculated the situation. A lot of people were upset that I didn’t attack him more, because that was my thing, but I won the match and that’s all that matters.”