UFC star heavyweights Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira are set for a rematch this December 10 at UFC 140 at the Air Canada Center in Toronto.
Mir comes in on a nice roll, gaining victories in his last two fights over Mirko Cro Cop and Roy Nelson, respectively. Meanwhile, Nogueira regained some relevancy with his own knockout victory over young lion Brendan Schaub last month in Brazil.
Despite what some people may think or say, a fight between the two aging stars carries some significance in the heavyweight division, as the winner may find himself in a No.1 contender match sometime in 2012, possibly against the winner of Brock Lesnar-Alistair Overeem, or the loser of Cain Velasquez-Junior Dos Santos. Meanwhile, the loser of this fight may never come close again.
The fighters first clashed in 2008 at UFC 89, and the fight and the outcome did not play out how many people thought it would. Heading into that fight, many people had written Mir off and said that he only had a slight chance if the fight hit the ground. Nogueira was seen to have a heavy edge in the stand-up, toughness and experience categories.
In a perfect example of why fights are never fought on paper, Mir came out and dominated Big Nog on the feet with superior boxing footwork and combinations, gaining a shocking TKO victory.
Information came out shortly after the fight saying that Big Nog was suffering from a knee injury and staph infection that did not allow him to be at his best that night.
A healthy Big Nog, combined with the stakes, should provide a very intriguing and exciting rematch.
Here is my head-to-toe breakdown of Mir versus Big Nog II.