MMA trainer Greg Jackson may want to mull over the possibility of sending Frank Mir to wrestling camp for the summer.
Despite his much-improved striking and world-class submission skills, Mir was once again beat up and bullied by the stronger wrestler in his UFC on Fox 7 co-main event bout against Daniel Cormier.
The majority of the bout was spent in the clinch against the cage with Cormier controlling and landing a few short strikes every now and then. Despite being the significantly larger man, Mir was completely outmatched in the wrestling department by the former U.S. Olympian.
All three judges scored every round for Cormier and handed him a lopsided unanimous decision.
Mir has always been a talented heavyweight, but he has never showcased the wrestling abilities to thwart the gargantuan grapplers emerging in today’s division. An inability to maintain leverage in the grappling department also cost him bouts against Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.
Under the tutelage of Jackson, Mir will continue to improve as a fighter overall. It was nice to see him mix things up with more diverse kicks. Still, a Mir with strong wrestling coupled with his endless knowledge of Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a scary man.
Here are five fights for him to take next.