Author: Matthew Ryder

UFC 140: Can Frank Mir Become a Heavyweight Contender Again?

It wasn’t a long time ago that Frank Mir was one of the best heavyweights in the world. He’d overcome championing a thin division on his own youthful hubris, a serious motorcycle accident that almost crippled him and some losses to guys tha…

It wasn’t a long time ago that Frank Mir was one of the best heavyweights in the world. He’d overcome championing a thin division on his own youthful hubris, a serious motorcycle accident that almost crippled him and some losses to guys that didn’t even deserve to fight him.

He’d just knocked out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira—the first man to ever do so—and was ready to show the world that his win over Brock Lesnar wasn’t a fluke, that he truly had the former WWE star’s number.

What happened from there was a veritable roller coaster that has seen Mir toil in mediocrity and struggle to find traction in the heavyweight division.

He was smashed by Lesnar in their rematch. He did some smashing of his own against Cheick Kongo. He was on the wrong side of a smashing again against Shane Carwin. He put together uninspiring wins over Mirko Filiopovic and Roy Nelson.

And now he’s back at Nogueira’s door, looking to show once again that a past win wasn’t a fluke. He’s hoping it goes better than the Lesnar rematch did.

It’s been a long road for one of the truest UFC veterans out there. Mir has contested 18 of his 20 career fights in the famed Octagon, and has held heavyweight gold on a couple of occasions. However, as the sport has evolved Mir has slipped, often struggling with the raw power of bigger, stronger men in a division that has quickly grown full of them.

He’s made attempts to combat those issues, toying with putting on more muscle or dropping weight to become smaller and faster. He’s worked on his wrestling, developed better standup. He’s done the things a man can do to contend, and some things that not every man will try. He just hasn’t gotten consistent results.

It comes down to Mir knowing what he is, accepting it and working with it. He’s not a man who should cut weight to make 265 lbs. He’s not a collegiate wrestler. He’s not a K-1 kickboxer.

He’s a jiu-jitsu guy, and a great one at that. He’s a decent boxer who has made tremendous strides in his striking overall. He’s at his best when he weighs in around 245 lbs. He’s a guy who has one great tool and some other decent ones. That’s Frank Mir.

And even with all that said, he’s still not that far out of contention. A win at UFC 140 puts him on a three-fight win streak over three name guys, and has him back in talks as a top-5 guy in the promotion.

Frank Mir’s biggest enemy is often Frank Mir. He needs to stop overthinking and just go fight. When he does that, as he did against Nogueira the first time, the sky is the limit.

That’s the only way that he can become a contender again.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 26: If Pat Barry Can’t Beat Christian Morecraft, He’s Done

Legendary underground hero and UFC hype machine Sean McCorkle really said it best after losing a fight to Stefan Struve late last year: “I’d like to have the worst heavyweight in the UFC. Unless that’s me, then I’d like to have the second-worst h…

Legendary underground hero and UFC hype machine Sean McCorkle really said it best after losing a fight to Stefan Struve late last year:

“I’d like to have the worst heavyweight in the UFC. Unless that’s me, then I’d like to have the second-worst heavyweight in the UFC.”

UFC matchmaker Joe Silva’s response? He booked McCorkle a date with Christian Morecraft. It turned out that Morecraft was no less than second-worst though, as the burly Washington native choked McCorkle unconscious in March and sent him packing from the UFC.

Now, it’s not fair to say Morecraft is the worst heavyweight in the UFC. He’s won fights in the promotion, and shown toughness and some evolution in his young game to this point. Having 265-pound guys hurling strikes at your head isn’t easy, and it doesn’t take much for you to look bad if one of them connects.

However, when he faces Pat Barry at UFC on FX 1 in January, there will be a definitive McCorklian feel to the fight. If Barry can’t beat Christian Morecraft, he’ll be done in the UFC.

Barry’s journey has been fascinating to this point in his MMA career, which has seen him make the jump from K-1 kickboxing into the world’s top mixed martial arts promotion. He’s gone from not aggressive enough, to too aggressive, to not skilled enough on the ground, to overconfident there, and back again.

It’s been incredible to see him bounce all over the place, wrecking people in one fight and then looking totally lost in his next.

No one can say he hasn’t been entertaining though, as, win or lose, he’s only been to a decision once, against hard-headed Joey Beltran. One can hope that such a tendency to put on a show will keep him around, as the division isn’t deep and it’s heavy on guys with sloppy standup and a plodding style. Barry’s dynamic attack, while one-dimensional, is fun to watch.

Plus he’s been victimized by surprise losses in fights that were sure wins on two occasions, to Mirko Cro Cop and Cheick Kongo. He could easily be 5-2 in the UFC instead of a pedestrian 3-4, so maybe there’s some latitude there.

At the end of the day though, a loss to Morecraft would be tough to overcome. He’s not exactly setting the world on fire himself, and Barry would be on a three-fight skid—only 6-5 in MMA overall.

Despite his affable nature and popularity, there is no more justification to keep him than there is to let him go to the regional circuit and get a bit better. Dana White has said plenty of times that the UFC is no place to learn MMA, and unfortunately that’s what Pat is doing.

All Pat Barry can hope for is another good performance that ends up in a win for him. He’s got karma on his side after losing some close ones that were within his grasp, and with the right matchmaking he can be a guy that fans will always look forward to seeing on a card.

He’s got to get by Morecraft first though, or they’ll be looking forward to seeing him in Shark Fights or Titan FC by next summer.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 140: Frank Mir, Tito Ortiz, and 6 Guys Who Make It Hard to Like Them

There are some guys in the UFC that you want to like, but they just make it so hard. Maybe they’ve been around a long time and represent and era gone by, or sometimes offer up nuggets of wisdom in interviews that you appreciate, and it makes you …

There are some guys in the UFC that you want to like, but they just make it so hard. Maybe they’ve been around a long time and represent and era gone by, or sometimes offer up nuggets of wisdom in interviews that you appreciate, and it makes you like them.

But then other times they’re out there making excuses, offering backhanded compliments to opponents who thrash them, or speaking with such delusion that it leaves you flabbergasted. As a result, you reconsider anything that you like about them, and you’re left with indifference. Or worse.

It’s a fine line to walk to be a fan favourite who speaks his mind or a guy that people just don’t like.

Here are some of the dudes on the UFC roster that are trying to walk that line at the moment.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 143: Building the Rest of the Card

UFC 143 will be taking place in Las Vegas on Superbowl Weekend and is expected to be headlined by Georges St-Pierre as he defends his gold against Nick Diaz. That fight has been announced by the UFC, however with much of their focus to this point being…

UFC 143 will be taking place in Las Vegas on Superbowl Weekend and is expected to be headlined by Georges St-Pierre as he defends his gold against Nick Diaz.

That fight has been announced by the UFC, however with much of their focus to this point being on their return to Japan a few weeks later, there are still some holes to be plugged.

Here are a few humble suggestions for Dana White and Joe Silva to consider.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 139 Results: All the Wars Haven’t Caught Up to Wanderlei Silva Yet

For all the Wanderlei Silva fans out there, UFC 139 rekindled a last great hope: all those wars might not have caught up with The Axe Murderer just yet. With his back against the wall and a daunting task at hand, that of a guaranteed brawl against form…

For all the Wanderlei Silva fans out there, UFC 139 rekindled a last great hope: all those wars might not have caught up with The Axe Murderer just yet.

With his back against the wall and a daunting task at hand, that of a guaranteed brawl against former Strikeforce standout Cung Le, Silva came out measured but still swinging and won in vintage fashion to keep the wolves from his door for another day.

But it was the way that Wandy beat Le that has to give people that hope. At a time when most people would tell you that he’s chinny and should be retired, Silva ate the best that Le could offer—a barrage of spinning back fists, wheel kicks, and general wackiness—and he came back to win by knockout.

While UFC commentator Joe Rogan didn’t like the stoppage, there’s no doubt it was justified. Silva had Le badly hurt and was dropping hammer fists while Le laid motionless and feebly attempted a single leg. That image, of Le face-down with Silva securing a win, became instantly timeless for fans of the Brazilian.

It’s been a long time since fans got to watch Silva take a guy’s best and come back to win. His last win, over Michael Bisping, was a clinical performance and showed a side of Silva not often seen, but Bisping didn’t threaten him much. Before that, he beat Keith Jardine, but Jardine never really got off in the fight.

At UFC 139 Cung Le threw his best, hit a lot of it and couldn’t stop Wanderlei Silva.

What this means for the lovable warrior is unknown at this point. It doesn’t get him in contention, maybe doesn’t even put him in the top-10, but for a guy that many thought was one punch away from retirement coming into tonight, it’s really two wins in one.

And for his fans, knowing that he might still have some miles on that chin after all the years of going to war, it’s a pretty big win as well.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 139. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the November 19 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 143 Fight Card: Is Cesar Gracie Making a Mistake Calling out GSP?

With the explosion of attention Nick Diaz has recently gotten, his manager and trainer Cesar Gracie has become more of a figurehead in MMA as well.The reason, of course, is Diaz’s well-publicized aversion to media commitments, which leaves Gracie…

With the explosion of attention Nick Diaz has recently gotten, his manager and trainer Cesar Gracie has become more of a figurehead in MMA as well.

The reason, of course, is Diaz’s well-publicized aversion to media commitments, which leaves Gracie shouldering the load as his star pupil prepares for a much-anticipated showdown with UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

The reason that fight is happening? Gracie’s willingness to push Diaz into saying the occasional crazy thing. In this case, calling out GSP.

Now, make no mistake, calling out St-Pierre is a double-edged sword.

It’s genius, because it ensures Diaz will get a title shot and the payday that comes along with it. It also makes him one of the most marketable antiheroes in MMA given his willingness to speak without a filter and prod opponents into fighting out of anger instead of fighting with a game plan.

But it’s also not the smartest thing in the world to put heat on the usually mild St-Pierre. Every time someone does, they end up seeing a version of the champion that’s hungrier and more motivated than usual, and that utterly decimates particularly mouthy opposition.

Look at the past.

Josh Koscheck talked a whole bunch of (often poorly conceived) trash during their run as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, and St-Pierre beat him all over the Octagon. He smashed Koscheck so badly that he couldn’t take an airplane out of Montreal for medical reasons, and has permanent nerve damage in his face.

B.J. Penn wasn’t shy with his thoughts on St-Pierre going into UFC 94, and the result was a pounding so ugly that Penn’s corner wouldn’t let him continue after the fourth round. Arguments persist to this day about GSP greasing, but the reality is that Penn was outclassed regardless, and if they were to meet again, you can rest assured the fight would be no closer.

Matt Serra said some interesting things going into the rematch between the two, where GSP was hunting to get his title back. I believe “Frenchy” was one of the slurs thrown out there. Not wise at the best of times, less wise fighting a Quebec-born martial artist in Quebec. Serra couldn’t get out of Round 2.

So it is that it becomes hard to believe this call-out is in the best interest of Nick Diaz inside the cage. He already has a considerable wrestling disadvantage to overcome, as well as St-Pierre’s capacity to play it safe and win on points, which flies in the face of everything Diaz stands for and is likely to frustrate him.

If you motivate St-Pierre by lipping him off and calling him out, history suggests that it’s going to make life that much harder on you.

At the end of the day though, good idea or not, this fight was the one the world wanted to see at 170 lbs. and calling out GSP was the only way it was going to happen. It pits one of the most exciting fighters in the sport against a champion who has been criticized for being overly safe, and that matchup creates a dynamic that people will want to watch.

And really, isn’t that what the UFC is all about?

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com