(Video: YouTube/420FriendlyMMAFan)
We’ve still got a week to go before our heavyweight title fight at UFC 146, but all of the excitement already has people losing their damn minds. Frank Mir and Junior Dos Santos will clash to determine who is the ‘baddest man on the planet’…at least for another 3-4 months until he inevitably loses the title to the next challenger. Enough dilly-dallying, let’s get to this week’s installment of UFC Primetime.
“Frank was very self-destructive. Drugs, alcohol. I think Frank was pretty much intoxicated for a whole year-and-a-half of his life. It was depression and then falling into a deeper spiral.” Mir’s wife, describing his life after the motorcycle wreck that nearly ended his fighting career, which sounds uncannily like the life of most CagePotato contributors.
“To be at such a mercy of others, to have sit there and ask my wife to go get me a glass of water because it was too painful to get up and go in the kitchen to get a glass of water. My back was against the wall, so I was like, you know, I’ll just go and get a job, and I’ll work, and that’s a new life now. And my wife didn’t like that. She felt that I was throwing the towel in too soon. We have to keep striving at getting this until we get it back.” Mir, making me feel bad for asking my girlfriend to get me a beer just because I’m lazy. Aaaaand, I’m over it.
“That’s why I take care of myself. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t go out at night and do those stupid things, you know. I don’t like those things. I don’t need that.” Dos Santos, stating the painfully obvious.
“My training is very, very hard. In the sparring session we go 100%. I try to do what I’m going to do in the fight.” Dos Santos, describing his five round sparring sessions against five different men. Wait, where on earth does he find five dudes willing to spar with him throwing down at 100%?
“I was always a little out of place as a child, I think due to my size, I was always the biggest kid. In eighth grade I was already over 200lbs and six foot. If you are an individual or there’s something that sets you out of the pack of course you’re going to be the butt of some jokes. I remember one time in sixth grade I was getting pegged with rocks and one of them caught me pretty good in the skull. I had to go home and mom had to drive me to go get some stitches.” Mir, on being bullied in school. That’s what you get for pulling the fire alarm, Frank.
“Dos Santos pretty much does the same thing every fight. He’s undefeated in the UFC and he’s the current holder of the belt. But as far as tricky and surprising, I don’t think you can really put that on him. I know his footwork and his speed, it’s things that are simulatable.” Mir, once again painting a one-dimensional portrait of his opponent.
“I think Dos Santos wants to end it quickly, because you’ve got to be realistic. I heard his corner saying, ‘the only chance Mir has is if it goes to the ground’. Well, the only chance he has is if it doesn’t go the ground. It goes back and forth. He goes to the ground with me, he’s dead. You might as well go ahead and start calling the orthopedic surgeons and prep the room.” Mir, haven’t we been down this road before?