Frank Mir at UFC 140 – Photo by Nick Laham/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Verbal agreements are in for a number-one contender match between former UFC heavyweight champions Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez, confirmed UFC president Dana White today.
That announcement was made at UFC.com on Wednesday for the upcoming May 26, 2012 event in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two fighters will meet under the roof of the MGM Grand Garden Arena and will very likely co-headline the UFC 146 event.
Mir (16-5) has won three straight and is coming off a win over Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira in their rematch at UFC 140 last December. Mir won the bout via first round submission, snapping Nogueira’s arm with a kimura after the big Brazilian refused to tap. Previous wins in that run also saw Mir defeat Roy Nelson via decision and Mirko Filipovic by knockout. Mir’s last loss was to Shane Carwin at UFC 111 for the interim UFC heavyweight title.
Velasquez has spent some time recovering from his first career loss, a knockout loss to Junior dos Santos at the first UFC on FOX event. The defeat also cost Velasquez the UFC heavyweight title, losing the strap in his first title defense after stopping Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 a year before via first round TKO. So far Velasquez is 7-1 in the Octagon since joining the UFC in April 2008 when he stopped Brad Morris via TKO at UFC 83.