Author: Jeremy Botter

Frank Mir Doesn’t Really Like Breaking Limbs, but He Does Love Submissions

I’m sure you’ve seen the past two episodes of UFC Primetime.You know, the ones where Frank Mir lovingly—and in excruciatingly grisly detail—describes his love for snapping limbs. It’s painful stuff, especially when you remember the visage o…

I’m sure you’ve seen the past two episodes of UFC Primetime.

You know, the ones where Frank Mir lovingly—and in excruciatingly grisly detail—describes his love for snapping limbs. It’s painful stuff, especially when you remember the visage of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira shortly after he made the dumb decision to let Mir thrash his right arm beyond all recognition rather than tap out.

Is Mir a violent man? In a manner of speaking, yes. He’s the best submission heavyweight in the history of the sport, and with that comes a certain expectation of limb-snapping. But I discussed this subject with Mir during a chat on Wednesday afternoon, and he told me that he’s not all he’s portrayed to be.

“I don’t really enjoy breaking limbs. I love winning by submission. They are so definitive and powerful. It’s my favorite aspect,” Mir says. “But you have to realize, the guy that I am fighting, we are of the same breed. We’re both mixed martial artists. I want to win, of course, but if they can leave with their limb intact, I’m a happier person for it.”

That’s a big difference from the guy we’re seeing on television each week, isn’t it? But that’s usually how these things go. Mir is a master at building fights, but he’s also one of the most charming and intelligent fighters in the entire sport. I sat with Mir in the Media Center at the MGM Grand for nearly 45 minutes, discussing a range of subjects from Obama/Romney on gun control to his desire to beat the living crap out of Ted Bundy. 

And I wondered how much time Mir has left in the game. He’s still young, but he’s been doing this cage-fighting thing for a long, long time. He tells me that Dan Henderson is still fighting for titles in his 40s, so there’s no reason he can’t do the same thing. But I don’t see Mir sticking around until his 40s, and I don’t think he does, either.

He has a future in commentary, because he’s one of the best analytical minds in the sport. 

“It’s something I can get back to and help the world of martial arts with, the sport that has given me so much,” Mir says. “If I can help the casual fan out, that would be great.”

How much does Mir have left? Is this his final run at the title, or the beginning of a late-career renaissance for one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport? As with anything else, Mir is cogent when discussing the day that he’ll pack up his gear and go home for the final time.

“First and foremost, injuries have to be taken into consideration. And really, I have three small children. I want to be part of their lives,” Mir says. “Once they get older, it’s time for me to become a cast member and not the star of the show. Which I am more than happy to take up.”

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Wednesday Ends with a Whimper, but Fight Week Goes into High Gear Tomorrow

The first full day of fight week is exhausting. I say this mostly because I woke up a little before 5am to catch my flight here this morning, and yet here I sit at 8:00 p.m. with the day not being close to over yet.Open workouts were interesting. I’ve …

The first full day of fight week is exhausting. I say this mostly because I woke up a little before 5am to catch my flight here this morning, and yet here I sit at 8:00 p.m. with the day not being close to over yet.

Open workouts were interesting. I’ve already filled you in on Frank Mir and Junior dos Santos, the headliners for Saturday’s big event. I had a lengthy chat with Frank shortly after I posted that update this afternoon; We talked about a ton of subjects, and I’ll have some notes from that for you later in the week.

Tomorrow is the press conference, right in the lobby of the MGM Grand. It’s open to fans, so if you’re in Las Vegas, you should make a point to stop by. UFC officials told me today that all ten heavyweights on the main card will be involved in the press conference. That doesn’t happen very often, and it should be an interesting one. You can watch the entire thing right here at Bleacher Report if you’re not here in Nevada, or if you have zero desire to brave the heat and the Strip to see it in person.

We’re doing a number of interesting things over the next 48 hours. You’ll be able to catch most of them on upcoming editions of The Ultimate Show with Kenda Perez. But please, by all means continue to stay tuned here. I’ll keep updating this fight week diary with what I hope are interesting news and anecdotes from what is sure to be an exhausting and awesome week in the Las Vegas sun.

Mir, Dos Santos Dazzle at Open Workouts

Frank Mir and Junior dos Santos are not small men. I don’t really need to state this, but I am anyway. Of course, none of the 10 men working out during today’s UFC 146 open workouts at the MGM Grand were small, save for Diego Brandao. Last season’…

Frank Mir and Junior dos Santos are not small men. I don’t really need to state this, but I am anyway. 

Of course, none of the 10 men working out during today’s UFC 146 open workouts at the MGM Grand were small, save for Diego Brandao. Last season’s Ultimate Fighter winner worked out for Brazilian media, mostly because American media didn’t realize he was actually working out. Brandao simply strolled to the mat and started rolling.

Dos Santos was all smiles, and that always freaks me out when I see him hit pads. Because he hits so hard, and with such blinding speed, that it easily makes him the most terrifying man in the UFC. Never has a nicer man hit anyone as hard as Dos Santos hits people. 

He was the most beloved fighter on the workouts, but Mir also received his share of attention. Mir took his time in warming up, but went through a full sparring session with his workout coach and then a grappling clinic with wunderkind submission king Ricky Lundell. He was also very talkative, giving detailed and thoughtful answers to each question posed. 

This is the good version of Mir, the one who is one of the best analysts in the entire sport. Most of the media pressures are over. There are no more marathon sessions on the phone, answering the same question over and over again, to make him testy and on edge.

Now it’s time for the hype, and that’s one of the things he does best.

UFC 146 Fight Week Diary: Back to the Desert for Heavyweight Action

There is nothing quite like a fight week in Las Vegas.I should know. I lived there for a year and attended far more events than I can possibly list here. Hell, I can’t even remember them all.I saw local action from some of the best independent promotio…

There is nothing quite like a fight week in Las Vegas.

I should know. I lived there for a year and attended far more events than I can possibly list here. Hell, I can’t even remember them all.

I saw local action from some of the best independent promotions in the country like Superior Cage Combat. I saw Ronda Rousey make her Las Vegas debut for Tuff N’ Uff, another local promotion. Rousey was every bit the star then that she is now; people just didn’t really know who she was. But it was only a matter of time.

I saw Strikeforce hit Vegas for the first time with its Challengers series. And yeah, I saw Rousey fight on that event as well. 

But there’s really nothing like a big UFC card to get your juices flowing. The city comes alive in a way that’s hard to describe. Only the World Series of Poker or big boxing fights with Floyd Mayweather compare to UFC fight weeks. OK, Chinese New Year is pretty awesome too, but only if you know the rules of baccarat and/or have hundreds of thousands of dollars to blow.

I’m glad to be back. Fight week kicks off in earnest today with the open workouts. Every single heavyweight on the main card will be featured, and I’ll be bringing you exclusive stories and video content throughout the week. Stay tuned as I attempt to take you as close to fight week as you can get without actually being there.

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Daniel Cormier vs. Shane Carwin? Yeah, I Could Watch That

We know Daniel Cormier, unfortunately, has to stick around the now two-man Strikeforce heavyweight division for at least one more fight. In an ideal world, Cormier would be on his way to the UFC after his re-broken hand heals up.So yeah, it’s unfortuna…

We know Daniel Cormier, unfortunately, has to stick around the now two-man Strikeforce heavyweight division for at least one more fight. In an ideal world, Cormier would be on his way to the UFC after his re-broken hand heals up.

So yeah, it’s unfortunate that we won’t be seeing Cormier make his UFC debut in his next fight. But it’s not the end of the world. There are zero heavyweights left in Strikeforce besides Cormier and Josh Barnett, and we don’t really need to see that fight again. The idea of bringing in an outside name like Tim Sylvia has a little appeal, but only because seeing the out-of-shape Sylvia being battered around the cage by Cormier would be intriguing. 

Cormier sticking around Strikeforce for one more fight isn’t all that bad because there are plenty of UFC heavyweights who could move over for one big fight against the grand prix winner. As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight someone like Travis Browne, but Cormier has a much better idea, as he told Ariel Helwani on yesterday’s edition of The MMA Hour:

I think if there is a plus one and Zuffa’s going to send someone over it is going to have to be someone that is very good you know? Maybe Shane Carwin, as he’s coming back. He’s a guy with a lot of name value and I don’t necessarily know if that’s a step up (from Josh Barnett) but that is somebody with name value.

Oh my. That’s quite the idea right there. Carwin’s been gone from the cage for nearly a year at this point, and we don’t know exactly what kind of condition he’ll be in when he gets back. But this is an intriguing idea, with the perfect mix of challenge and name value for Cormier’s next opponent. 

I like it. No, I love it. Book it, Joe.

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Nevada Plays Favorites with Steroid Users but Hates Marijuana

The UFC’s issues with drug-related failures are a problem, but they have yet to reach epidemic levels. Not yet, anyway.Truthfully, they haven’t even come close to damaging as many fights as training injuries have. But the major drug-related cases we’ve…

The UFC’s issues with drug-related failures are a problem, but they have yet to reach epidemic levels. Not yet, anyway.

Truthfully, they haven’t even come close to damaging as many fights as training injuries have. But the major drug-related cases we’ve seen this year have been high-profile—witness the cases of Alistair Overeem and Nick Diaz—and thus the spotlight seems a little bit brighter than normal.

I’ve talked about the issue of performance-enhancing drugs here in the past, and I’ll continue to do so in the future. It’s an issue that isn’t going away anytime soon, and it looks like Dana White is finally amenable to taking drastic steps inside his own company to help clean up the sport before it gets out of control:

Lance Pugmire: (Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir) came together only because Alistair Overeem tested positive for testosterone. How devastating was that to your sport?

Dana White: “The steroid, PED thing affects the whole sport. The key is to make sure these guys never get on it, because once they do, they change. The problem with Overeem is that I want to sit in a room with him man to man and believe him. He told me before he ever fought for us, ‘Don’t worry, I’m the most tested athlete in sports.’ But I think we have about 42 fights a year . . . you have a guy or two popping [positive tests] here and there, that’s a pretty good ratio.”

LP: Do you want to increase testing?

DFW: “Yes. We’re going to do our own testing, order these guys into [a lab]; we’re sorting it out now. You have to do this to save the sport. You can’t have these guys fighting on this stuff.”

The one-year suspension handed down to Nick Diaz by the Nevada State Athletic Commission yesterday was a complete and total farce, and everyone with half a brain knows it.

Yes, weed is illegal inside of competition in Nevada, even if you have a medical marijuana license in another state. And yes, Diaz should have stopped smoking a little bit sooner than the eight days he says he did, if only to ensure that his donated urine sample on fight night was clean as a whistle.

I’m not a pothead. I’ve smoked the stuff before, and I didn’t like it. I doubt I’ll ever try it again. But the fact that Diaz—who had trace amounts of marijuana metabolites, and not THC evident of actual marijuana use on that day—got a full-year suspension while Overeem got nine months after admittedly taking anabolic steroids (and also ducking urine tests) is completely and undeniably absurd and asinine. 

Not only did Overeem receive a lighter sentence—he was actually praised by the chairman of the commission, Skip Avansino, after presenting a case that even made Overeem’s most ardent supporters cringe.

Overeem blamed everyone under the sun. He used a whack doctor with a history of malpractice and shady dealings in performance-enhancing drugs to support his already-flimsy case. And this only came about after Overeem somehow delayed the NSAC’s initial drug test request back in November for nearly a month, then tried to avoid Nevada commissioners for his second drug test in April.

And after all of this, the Nevada commission thanked Overeem, gave him a reduced sentence and begged him to consider fighting in their state at the end of the year. 

Nick Diaz, on the other hand, presented a well-reasoned case with actual law and real doctors to back it up, and he got the full-year suspension.

I can’t figure it out. The Nevada commission is often pointed to as one of the best in the world, but I’m beginning to think they might just be one of the worst.

You can go into a hearing and tell them the most outlandish stories you can think of, and you might get a reduced sentence. But challenge them in court and present them with facts, and you’ll probably find yourself sitting on the sidelines far longer.

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