For all the talk of Chael Sonnen being the best in the world at building up fights—and rightly so, because Sonnen certainly is awesome at that aspect of the business—there’s one guy who often gets overlooked when it comes to the ability to talk up fights.
If we ranked the top 10 guys in the world when it comes to the ability to create interest in fights, Frank Mir would be near the top of the list. He’s a highly intelligent and well-read fighter, and that gives him a different kind of vibe.
Witness his second bout with Brock Lesnar. Lesnar, ever the WWE-style showman, did a lot of red-faced promos discussing his desire to hurt Mir and get revenge for Mir beating him in his UFC debut. Mir, by contrast, was quiet and thoughtful, giving intelligent responses to everything Lesnar had to say.
But Mir did it all with a slight smirk, as if he knew something the world couldn’t fathom. That smirk did one of two things to MMA fans: It infuriated them, or it made them fall even more in Mir’s corner. In the end, the rematch with Lesnar was the biggest fight in the history of the UFC, and by a significant margin.
Mir is making the media rounds to hype his UFC 146 title fight with champion Junior dos Santos, and he’s doing what he does best: saying things that don’t make a ton of sense, but make you all the more interested in seeing his upcoming fight unfold.
Do you have to get dos Santos to the ground or can you stand up with him?
I’m going to go ahead and strike with him, probably more than Carwin wanted to and some of these other guys and try to lull him into lowering his striking defense. If I get him into a rhythm where it’s a boxing match, it will be easier to shoot or take him down. If you are shooting right off the bat and are grabbing a leg and that person’s waiting for it, it’s like any combat tactic. It’s very easy to stop what you are expecting.
See what I mean? That’s nonsense. And the beauty of the comment is that we all realize Frank is a very intelligent fighter. He’s one of the smartest guys on the UFC roster.
So of course, it’s nonsense, because Mir knows and understands that every single person who tries to stand up with Dos Santos ends up being punished in a bad way. Mir’s best path to victory goes through the grappling game, and standing around trading strikes with Dos Santos is a sure way to get yourself knocked out, even if you’re only planning on doing it to set up a takedown.
I guarantee you that no part of Mir’s game plan involves him testing Junior’s striking game. It just won’t happen. But that’s the cool thing about Frank: He’ll say things like this to keep Junior on his toes, to keep him guessing when they’re finally in the cage together.
And more importantly, he’ll create more interest in the fight for those fans who were wanted to see Alistair Overeem get the title shot. That’s the genius of Frank Mir: He sticks around, always near the top, and always has a hook to keep you interested in seeing him fight.
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