Sadly, the UFC’s heavyweight super card seems to have taken a major hit.
The original UFC 146 headlining bout between UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and No. 1 contender Alistair Overeem is in serious jeopardy due to Overeem failing a pre-fight drug test for the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), and unless Overeem’s “B” sample is clean, the heavyweight fight of the summer will be forced to be called off.
In what was either a lucky break or an extremely smart precaution, the UFC has already stacked the UFC 146 card with some of the best heavyweights in the promotion, giving them a ready replacement already on the card.
The co-main event between Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir is the logical place for the UFC to look for a replacement, and while both fighters can make a decent case for the shot, one clearly has an edge over the other.
Velasquez has been out of action since last November, where he lost his title to Dos Santos by knockout in just 64 seconds.
Now looking to rebound, a rematch for the belt would be a bit unconventional by UFC standards, but it would be a good opportunity to give one of the UFC’s stars to get back into the title picture.
On the other hand, Mir has done everything asked of him since losing an interim title fight to Shane Carwin back at UFC 111, taking out Mirko Cro Cop, Roy Nelson and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira over the last two years in order to climb back into title contention.
Mir’s victory over Nogueira, where he earned a lot of attention by locking on to a kimura and snapping “Minotauro’s” arm, has turned him back into a legitimate title threat and a very viable option to step in and fight Dos Santos.
While an immediate rematch between Dos Santos and Velasquez is interesting, and would certainly be a good fight, there’s no way the UFC can pass over Mir without it looking like they’re playing favorites.
Mir’s gone out and earned his shot at the belt since he last lost, something that Velasquez hasn’t had the time to do, and he deserves a chance at becoming a three-time UFC champion.
In the meantime the UFC could make sure to get Velasquez a new opponent in the co-main event, possibly sending in another rising contender like Fabricio Werdum to step in on short notice, and if Velasquez can pull of the victory they would have no problem booking him against the winner of Dos Santos and Mir.
In a perfect world, the UFC would be able to keep Overeem on the card and make a ton of money by showcasing a stand up war for the ages, but this failed test seems to have made that impossible and a matchup between Dos Santos and Mir is the next best thing the company can give its fans.
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