Dana White had harsh words for Frank Mir following UFC 130, saying that he was not happy with Mir’s performance for the second consecutive fight.
While Mir’s fight with Roy Nelson might not have been the most exciting fight in Mir’s career, White was simply too hard on Mir.
The fight itself was actually pretty exciting in the early going.
Mir and Nelson were engaging in wild exchanges with Nelson trying to land right hands, and Mir trying to land clinch knees to the head. Mir landed a bunch of heavy shots that would have ended the night if it wasn’t for Nelson’s tough chin.
The fight was also a pretty grueling and competitive one when it became a wrestling match.
Clinch fighting often doesn’t look like much, but it’s extremely tiring, especially when you’re pushing around a 260-pound man for 15 minutes.
Still, in the immediate aftermath, Dana White called the fight “borderline embarrassing.”
I disagree.
Realistic Expectations for Frank Mir
Frank Mir fought just about as well as you can expect Frank Mir to fight.
Mir has powerful strikes, but he’s not fast enough or technical enough to be able to stand and trade in the pocket.
As such, his striking attempts are going to come from range or in the clinch, and in fits and starts.
Mir is also not a great wrestler, so when he attempts to take somebody down, he’s going to have to spend a lot of energy doing so, and it’s not always going to be pretty.
At the present time it should be pretty easy to see that Mir isn’t going to be able to beat guys like Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez. Despite Mir’s recent dedication to strength and conditioning, he’s simply not on the same level as those guys athletically.
That doesn’t mean Frank Mir is irrelevant.
Mir is still a top-10 heavyweight. He just isn’t a top-three guy. In order to appreciate what Mir can do, (which is a lot) we need to accept that fact and move on.
There are still tons of interesting fights for Mir that could be entertaining or relevant.
Mir is a great challenge for up and coming contenders like Brendan Schaub or perhaps even a Travis Browne. He’d also be a worthwhile opponent for any other top-10 opponent.
Once people accept the fact that Mir doesn’t need to be able to win the belt to be relevant, people might finally start to enjoy his fights instead of saying, “he’d still get destroyed by Lesnar,” every time he fights.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com