Filed under: UFC, NewsTwo days after he broke the arm of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140, Frank Mir said that he felt badly for Nogueira’s injury, but he expressed pride in his first-round submission finish.
Two days after he broke the arm of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140, Frank Mir said that he felt badly for Nogueira’s injury, but he expressed pride in his first-round submission finish.
And as for the talk that Mir might be pressed into service to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, Mir said he doesn’t know anything more than the fans know about the reports that Alistair Overeem may not be able to fight Lesnar as scheduled.
In an appearance on The MMA Hour, Mir said that when he locked in the kimura against Nogueira, he simply wanted to hold on until he had won the fight.
“I just locked it up and I wanted to make sure he didn’t get out,” Mir said. “I’m locking up a submission, and in my mind I want to keep applying force and don’t lose it.”
Mir, who previously broke Tim Sylvia‘s arm in a UFC heavyweight title fight, said that doesn’t take any satisfaction in injuring an opponent.
“I just want to win the fight,” Mir said. “The fact that you have to go get medical treatment after it, I don’t take credit for that. That sucked. He’s another martial artist I hope he can go back to the gym Monday like everyone else.”
Nogueira actually got off to a great start in the fight, hitting Mir hard and appearing to have him badly hurt. Mir acknowledged that Noguiera caught him by surprise by throwing punches, rather than immediately going for a takedown, and that those punches wobbled him.
“I was pretty stunned,” Mir said. “He caught me really good on the ear. That’s why my legs were so wobbly. When I first shot I was dizzy.”
As for the talk that Overeem could be out of his upcoming fight with Lesnar, and that Mir could take Overeem’s place, Mir said he doesn’t know anything about it but will accept the fight if it’s offered to him. But if Lesnar isn’t his next opponent, Mir hopes he’s fighting someone who gives him a chance to prove that he deserves the next shot at the UFC heavyweight title.
“I want a fight that’s a positive step toward a title shot,” Mir said. “When they start naming opponents I’ll ask, that it’s someone that takes me closer to No. 1 title contention.”
The UFC’s streak of stellar fight cards continued in Toronto on Saturday night, and the Canadian fans showed all the intelligent appreciation we’ve come to expect of our MMA-crazed neighbors to the north. That’s good news for guys like Mark Bocek, who would have been booed out of the building in Las Vegas, but got treated like a conquering hero of technical grappling in the T-dot.
But now that UFC 140 is in the books, it’s time again to sift through the rubble to find the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Jon Jones
Here’s a scary thought: what if Jones’ chin is as good as the rest of him? What if he can take a shot as well as he can give one, and still come back to slice you up with those killer elbows and smack you upside the head with kicks that he flicks out like jabs? Then who beats this guy? Probably nobody, if we’re being honest. The more confidence and experience he gains, the more of a nightmare he becomes for anyone in the light heavyweight division. Just as we’ve been saying for months, the biggest threat to his dominance is still, paradoxically, that very same dominance. When you’re beating people this easily, it would be almost natural to get complacent and over-confident and let hubris get the better of you. There are a thousand different ways for that to happen to a wealthy young pro fighter who seems to be headed for super-stardom, and so few ways for him to avoid it. Will Jones prove to be the exception rather than the rule? Maybe. If there’s one thing we know about the guy at this point, it’s that he’s exceptional.
Biggest Loser: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nothing about Big Nog suggests that he’s the type to tap to a kimura even when he realizes that you’ve got it locked up. We all probably suspected as much before this fight. Now we know it. We also know that he’s willing to pay the price for his own stubbornness, and he did. Considering all the surgeries and lingering injuries he’s dealt with in the past few years, he seems like the last person who needs a broken arm right now. But really, maybe this is a good thing for him. Maybe it will sideline him long enough to make him think about why he’s still doing this when it’s clearly taking a terrible toll on his body. After having surgery on both hips, Nogueira told us before the fight, he went two months where he couldn’t put his foot on the floor without searing pain. That’s two months per hip, and since he had the surgeries a couple months apart, it means he spent nearly half a year off his feet, then came back as soon as possible to fight professionally again because…well, that part’s still unclear. He’s a legend of the sport, and as he showed in those early moments against Mir, dude can still scrap. But how much trauma can you put your skeleton through before it’s just not worth it anymore? I don’t know, but I fear Nogueira might be determined to find out.
Too Reasonable For His Own Good: Chan Sung Jung
Not only did he apologize to the Canadian crowd for knocking out one of their own in seven seconds, he later attributed his own victory to more good luck than skill. That’s true in the sense that it was lucky for him to have faced an overly reckless version of the usually patient Hominick, but give yourself some credit. You don’t hear Duane Ludwig or Todd Duffee saying they were lucky to score their blitzkrieg knockouts, though sure, there had to be a little luck involved. You almost get the sense that even Jung didn’t expect himself to win that fight — certainly not that quickly, anyway. A win’s a win, even if it’s a result of your opponent screwing up. Take ’em however you can get em, Zombie.
Most Charmingly Delusional: Frank Mir He wasn’t dazed. No way. And Nogueira wasn’t close to stopping him. It was just a matter of time until he locked up the kimura and snapped his arm like a stale breadstick. If you believe all that, then you might also believe that it would be a good idea for Mir to fight Brock Lesnar in three weeks. Clearly, Mir is living in his own little world these days, but he is riding a three-fight win streak in that world, so maybe there’s something to it. Maybe success depends on making the most of your own illusions. It probably doesn’t hurt to be a 260-pound submissions expert, either.
Blackest Pot to Accuse Kettle of Same: Nik Lentz
According to the quotes sent out by the UFC, “The Carny” has suddenly come to the conclusion that holding an opponent down without doing any damage to him is a pretty cheap way to win. That he came to that conclusion right after Mark Bocek Lentz’d him, and not after he did more or less the same thing to Andre Winner, well, that’s probably no accident. “He did zero damage. That’s what fights are based on and he didn’t hurt me,” Lentz told the UFC, citing the Nick Diaz version of MMA scoring. “He did absolutely nothing to me except hold me down. That’s not what a fight is supposed to be. So what if he was on top, he did nothing.” Somewhere in England, Winner is sipping a cup of Earl Grey and having himself a good laugh.
Best Career-Saving Victory: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
This is the problem with fighting a guy like Tito Ortiz. If you lose, it’s disastrous — especially if you’re already riding a two-fight losing streak, like Little Nog was. If you win, as he did, then people shrug and say, so what? All you did was beat Tito, and everybody’s done that lately. At least Nogueira did it in brutal fashion, and in a hurry. In the process he showed that he can still hurt people when he manages to stay upright. If he improves his wrestling enough to stay there against some of the better takedown artists in the division, he might string together a few wins that fans have no choice but to be impressed by.
Most Knockouts Per Round: Constantinos Philippou
He only fought the brilliantly-mustachioed Jared Hamman for about three minutes, but Philippou must have knocked him out at least three times in that span. Hamman showed incredible toughness and resiliency by continuing to rise and rise again, but Philippou had no trouble locating Hamman’s skull with his fist each time. Philippou is a frightening enough striker when your legs are firmly underneath you and your guard is up. The last place you want to be is wobbling around like a newborn fawn in front of a slugger like that.
Least Impressive in Victory: Brian Ebersole
He played it safe and did enough to win, but just barely. It was his least entertaining performance in the UFC so far, and one of the few fights to draw the ire of the uncommonly patient Toronto crowd. These people seemed to actually find some enjoyment in the Bocek-Lentz fight, but Ebersole and Claude Patrick pushed them just a little too far. As long as Ebersole doesn’t make a habit of it, we’ll let this one slide.
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Most Impressive in Defeat: Walel Watson
He dropped a split decision to Yves Jabouin on the prelims, but it could have easily gone the other way. Watson’s height and reach could prove to be serious weapons if he learns how to maximize their effectiveness. He’s not quite there yet, but he made some strides in the right direction against Jabouin, even if the judges didn’t see it his way. While it’s a bummer to go home with an L on your record, he shouldn’t get too down over this one. He’ll be back soon, and I’ll be eager to see it.
Least Convincing New Nickname: Tito Ortiz
He’s now calling himself “The People’s Champ,” supposedly because he’s tired of associating himself with the negativity represented by “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” That’s fine, but in order to be anybody’s champ you still have to win some fights. Ortiz has won just one of his last eight, and he wants to be the people’s champ? I guess, but only in the same way that the public pool is always a little sadder than the private pool at the health club. He still remains a popular, or at least well-known figure, and he deserves a place in the UFC’s insular little Hall of Fame for all he did to help build the sport and the brand. But if Dana White does decide to grant his wish and let him have one last fight in May just so he can call himself a 15-year veteran, it will be more an act of generous pity than anything else. No other fighter gets to lose this much and still stick around. But then, no other fighter is Tito Ortiz. For the sake of White’s sanity, that’s probably a good thing.
The UFC’s streak of stellar fight cards continued in Toronto on Saturday night, and the Canadian fans showed all the intelligent appreciation we’ve come to expect of our MMA-crazed neighbors to the north. That’s good news for guys like Mark Bocek, who would have been booed out of the building in Las Vegas, but got treated like a conquering hero of technical grappling in the T-dot.
But now that UFC 140 is in the books, it’s time again to sift through the rubble to find the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Biggest Winner: Jon Jones
Here’s a scary thought: what if Jones’ chin is as good as the rest of him? What if he can take a shot as well as he can give one, and still come back to slice you up with those killer elbows and smack you upside the head with kicks that he flicks out like jabs? Then who beats this guy? Probably nobody, if we’re being honest. The more confidence and experience he gains, the more of a nightmare he becomes for anyone in the light heavyweight division. Just as we’ve been saying for months, the biggest threat to his dominance is still, paradoxically, that very same dominance. When you’re beating people this easily, it would be almost natural to get complacent and over-confident and let hubris get the better of you. There are a thousand different ways for that to happen to a wealthy young pro fighter who seems to be headed for super-stardom, and so few ways for him to avoid it. Will Jones prove to be the exception rather than the rule? Maybe. If there’s one thing we know about the guy at this point, it’s that he’s exceptional.
Biggest Loser: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nothing about Big Nog suggests that he’s the type to tap to a kimura even when he realizes that you’ve got it locked up. We all probably suspected as much before this fight. Now we know it. We also know that he’s willing to pay the price for his own stubbornness, and he did. Considering all the surgeries and lingering injuries he’s dealt with in the past few years, he seems like the last person who needs a broken arm right now. But really, maybe this is a good thing for him. Maybe it will sideline him long enough to make him think about why he’s still doing this when it’s clearly taking a terrible toll on his body. After having surgery on both hips, Nogueira told us before the fight, he went two months where he couldn’t put his foot on the floor without searing pain. That’s two months per hip, and since he had the surgeries a couple months apart, it means he spent nearly half a year off his feet, then came back as soon as possible to fight professionally again because…well, that part’s still unclear. He’s a legend of the sport, and as he showed in those early moments against Mir, dude can still scrap. But how much trauma can you put your skeleton through before it’s just not worth it anymore? I don’t know, but I fear Nogueira might be determined to find out.
Too Reasonable For His Own Good: Chan Sung Jung
Not only did he apologize to the Canadian crowd for knocking out one of their own in seven seconds, he later attributed his own victory to more good luck than skill. That’s true in the sense that it was lucky for him to have faced an overly reckless version of the usually patient Hominick, but give yourself some credit. You don’t hear Duane Ludwig or Todd Duffee saying they were lucky to score their blitzkrieg knockouts, though sure, there had to be a little luck involved. You almost get the sense that even Jung didn’t expect himself to win that fight — certainly not that quickly, anyway. A win’s a win, even if it’s a result of your opponent screwing up. Take ’em however you can get em, Zombie.
Most Charmingly Delusional: Frank Mir He wasn’t dazed. No way. And Nogueira wasn’t close to stopping him. It was just a matter of time until he locked up the kimura and snapped his arm like a stale breadstick. If you believe all that, then you might also believe that it would be a good idea for Mir to fight Brock Lesnar in three weeks. Clearly, Mir is living in his own little world these days, but he is riding a three-fight win streak in that world, so maybe there’s something to it. Maybe success depends on making the most of your own illusions. It probably doesn’t hurt to be a 260-pound submissions expert, either.
Blackest Pot to Accuse Kettle of Same: Nik Lentz
According to the quotes sent out by the UFC, “The Carny” has suddenly come to the conclusion that holding an opponent down without doing any damage to him is a pretty cheap way to win. That he came to that conclusion right after Mark Bocek Lentz’d him, and not after he did more or less the same thing to Andre Winner, well, that’s probably no accident. “He did zero damage. That’s what fights are based on and he didn’t hurt me,” Lentz told the UFC, citing the Nick Diaz version of MMA scoring. “He did absolutely nothing to me except hold me down. That’s not what a fight is supposed to be. So what if he was on top, he did nothing.” Somewhere in England, Winner is sipping a cup of Earl Grey and having himself a good laugh.
Best Career-Saving Victory: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
This is the problem with fighting a guy like Tito Ortiz. If you lose, it’s disastrous — especially if you’re already riding a two-fight losing streak, like Little Nog was. If you win, as he did, then people shrug and say, so what? All you did was beat Tito, and everybody’s done that lately. At least Nogueira did it in brutal fashion, and in a hurry. In the process he showed that he can still hurt people when he manages to stay upright. If he improves his wrestling enough to stay there against some of the better takedown artists in the division, he might string together a few wins that fans have no choice but to be impressed by.
Most Knockouts Per Round: Constantinos Philippou
He only fought the brilliantly-mustachioed Jared Hamman for about three minutes, but Philippou must have knocked him out at least three times in that span. Hamman showed incredible toughness and resiliency by continuing to rise and rise again, but Philippou had no trouble locating Hamman’s skull with his fist each time. Philippou is a frightening enough striker when your legs are firmly underneath you and your guard is up. The last place you want to be is wobbling around like a newborn fawn in front of a slugger like that.
Least Impressive in Victory: Brian Ebersole
He played it safe and did enough to win, but just barely. It was his least entertaining performance in the UFC so far, and one of the few fights to draw the ire of the uncommonly patient Toronto crowd. These people seemed to actually find some enjoyment in the Bocek-Lentz fight, but Ebersole and Claude Patrick pushed them just a little too far. As long as Ebersole doesn’t make a habit of it, we’ll let this one slide.
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Most Impressive in Defeat: Walel Watson
He dropped a split decision to Yves Jabouin on the prelims, but it could have easily gone the other way. Watson’s height and reach could prove to be serious weapons if he learns how to maximize their effectiveness. He’s not quite there yet, but he made some strides in the right direction against Jabouin, even if the judges didn’t see it his way. While it’s a bummer to go home with an L on your record, he shouldn’t get too down over this one. He’ll be back soon, and I’ll be eager to see it.
Least Convincing New Nickname: Tito Ortiz
He’s now calling himself “The People’s Champ,” supposedly because he’s tired of associating himself with the negativity represented by “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.” That’s fine, but in order to be anybody’s champ you still have to win some fights. Ortiz has won just one of his last eight, and he wants to be the people’s champ? I guess, but only in the same way that the public pool is always a little sadder than the private pool at the health club. He still remains a popular, or at least well-known figure, and he deserves a place in the UFC’s insular little Hall of Fame for all he did to help build the sport and the brand. But if Dana White does decide to grant his wish and let him have one last fight in May just so he can call himself a 15-year veteran, it will be more an act of generous pity than anything else. No other fighter gets to lose this much and still stick around. But then, no other fighter is Tito Ortiz. For the sake of White’s sanity, that’s probably a good thing.
There’s a time for fightin’, and a time for dancin’! Nog breaks out “The Robot“, Mir shows off the “Smooth Criminal“. (Photo: UFC.com)
I’m not sure what sort of pre-fight pep talk was given to the fighters in their locker rooms last night, but I hope somebody recorded it to play at all future events. “Never leave it in the hands of the judges” doesn’t begin to capture the sentiment that most of the fighters carried with them to the Octagon. Last night’s finishes were emphatic and extraordinary. Knocking your opponent out wouldn’t do—it would have to tie for the quickest KO in UFC history. Subbing the previously untapped wasn’t enough—you had to break them or render them unconcious.
There’s a time for fightin’, and a time for dancin’! Nog breaks out “The Robot“, Mir shows off the “Smooth Criminal“. (Photo: UFC.com)
I’m not sure what sort of pre-fight pep talk was given to the fighters in their locker rooms last night, but I hope somebody recorded it to play at all future events. “Never leave it in the hands of the judges” doesn’t begin to capture the sentiment that most of the fighters carried with them to the Octagon. Last night’s finishes were emphatic and extraordinary. Knocking your opponent out wouldn’t do—it would have to tie for the quickest KO in UFC history. Subbing the previously untapped wasn’t enough—you had to break them or render them unconcious.
If Frank Mir was watching the main event back stage, his heart must have dropped along with Machida’s unconcious body. After all, there are only so many “Submission of the Night” bonuses to go around. Mir has now notched two Nogueira “firsts” on his belt. In their bout at UFC 92, Mir battered Big Nog in the standup, dropping him multiple times before following him to the ground with strikes and becoming the first man to finish the durable Brazilian. Last night, Nogueira nearly flipped the script, rattling Mir with a combination that sent him to the canvas. The writing was on the wall as Nog dropped hammerfists on a dazed Mir, but the black belt switched his attack from bludgeoning to Brazilian jiu jitsu as he attempted a D’arce choke. Mir worked free from the hold and swept the Brazilian with a Kimura. Nogueira rolled to escape, but Mir ended up on top and still in control of the arm. Nogueira would tap for the first time, but not before significant, grimace-inducing damage had been done. A post-fight x-ray revealed a very broken arm which will be repaired with surgery this week. Despite the main event, Mir’s merciless cranking earned him the evening’s $75k “Submission of the Night” bonus.
The smaller of the Nogueira brothers faired much better in his equally short bout. As expected, Rogerio’s hands were superior to Tito Ortiz’s. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy People’s Champion” failed with an early single leg takedown, forcing him to trade with Little Nog. “Minotoro” caught him with a left hand before dropping him with a knee to the body eerily similar the knees that folded him in his fights with Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida. From there Nogueira went to work on Ortiz’s body from the guard, targeting hard punches and elbows on a single spot along his rib cage. Tito turtled up, obviously in pain, and Yves Lavigne waived the Brazilian off. Tito remained on the writhing on ground and clutching his mid-section. Dana White was unsure of Tito’s future following this second loss since his win over Ryan Bader. For Nogueira, it was a bounce back from two consecutive losses and a questionable decision victory over Jason Brilz.
“The Korean Zombie” set the tone for the evening early on. Mark Hominick came out aggressively, swinging away and looking to make short work of Chan Sung Jung, but that door swings both ways. Jung avoided Hominick’s haymaker and landed a beautiful counter that sent “The Machine” careening backwards to the mat. A few blistering follow-up shots on the ground prompted Herb Dean to step in to protect the defenseless Hominick. With his seven-second win, Jung picked up the “Knock Out of the Night” bonus and tied for the fastest ever UFC knock out, though Dana White promised to look into Duane Ludwig’s rightful claim to that record.
Jung wasn’t alone in making quick work of his opponent. Igor Pokrajac drove Krzysztov Soszynski across the cage with brutal punches that knocked him out cold in just 35 seconds.
Constantinos Philippou lit up Jarrad Hamman, dropping him multiple times throughout their fight. Hamman was mostly-unconscious for the duration of their three minute, eleven second bout, before Philippou flipped his switch for good.
Whether motivated by his exposing loss to Ebersole or a tough weight cut that left him low on energy, Dennis Hallman stormed after John Makdessi, quickly dragging him to the canvas. From there he unleashed some heavy blows before sinking in a rear naked choke just shy of three minutes into the bout.
Not all of the evening’s battles fit so neatly in the “Who Won” box, however. Brian Ebersole emerged victorious in a close contest with Claude Patrick. Boos poured out when the split-decision went against the hometown fighter. We also had the bout scored for Patrick, but if anything this bout highlighted the inconsistency in MMA judging criteria rather than outright incompetence.
Main Bouts (on Pay-Per-View): -Jon Jones def. Lyoto Machida by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:26, R2
-Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by submission (kimura) at 3:38, R1
-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Tito Ortiz by TKO at 3:15, R1
-Brian Ebersole def. Claude Patrick by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Chan Sung Jung def. Mark Hominick by TKO at :07, R1
Preliminary Bouts (on ION Television): -Igor Pokrajac def. Krzysztof Soszynski by KO at :35, R1
-Constantinos Philippou def. Jared Hamman by KO at 3:11, R1
-Dennis Hallman def. John Makdessi by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:58, R1
-Yves Jabouin def. Walel Watson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Preliminary Bouts (on Facebook):
-Mark Bocek def. Nik Lentz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Jake Hecht def. Rich Attonito by TKO at 1:10, R2
-John Cholish def. Mitch Clarke by TKO at 4:36, R2
TORONTO — Frank Mir would have us believe that he was never really out of it after getting rocked by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round of their heavyweight tilt at UFC 140. Instead, he was merely “wobbled,” he said. He’d also have us believe that was bound to get out of danger whether Nogueira had stopped hitting him and gone for a choke or not, even if UFC president Dana White was among those who simply wasn’t buying either claim.
It almost makes you wonder how seriously to take Mir’s other major statement on the night, this one regarding rumors that Alistair Overeem might have to withdraw from his UFC 141 fight with Brock Lesnar on December 30.
“If the rumors that you’re hearing are true, I wouldn’t mind having to step in for Overeem and taking on Brock,” said Mir. “I’m pretty healthy and three weeks isn’t bad turnaround.”
And why not? He may have come within one or two punches of being knocked completely out by Nogueira in a back-and-forth one-rounder, but Mir talked like a man who had hardly suffered any damage at all before getting the submission win in a wild affair.
As he explained: “I only fought a three-minute fight, so I’m feeling pretty good. My wife might not be happy about Christmas but, eh, she can deal with it.”
As for Nogueira, his holiday season is looking especially grim. White, who denied the Overeem withdrawal rumors, revealed after the press conference that he was planning to fly Nogueira back to Las Vegas with him on Sunday morning so he could have surgery on his injured right arm as soon as possible. He also said that he knew Nogueira was headed for trouble when Mir locked up the kimura, and nothing about the Brazilian’s history or posture suggested that he was ready to tap.
“Nogueira’s a jiu-jitsu black belt, probably the best submissions heavyweight of all time, you know when you get caught in that thing to tap,” White said. “You know to tap out to that. It’s what happens if you don’t.”
Mir said he knew what the likely outcome would be when he secured the kimura, and the only thing left to do was to go ahead and finish it.
“I had a strong inclination that he was not going to tap, so I took a deep breath and you guys saw what happened,” he said.
The injury drew pained groans from the crowd at the Air Canada Centre when it was replayed several times on the big screen. It’s the latest in a serious of injuries that have piled up on Nogueira of late, and though he hasn’t taken the knockouts that some of his contemporaries have, he might still have to sit down for a serious talk with the boss, White said.
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“You’ve got to look at a guy’s entire career, not just how it’s ending. Big Nog’s been in wars, man. I was at the Pride fight when he fought Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ [Filipovic], and ‘Cro Cop’ was just blasting him with kicks to the body and shots to the head, and then he ends up pulling off that submission win in the second round. He’s had a career where he’s been through wars.
“Big Nog is a nice guy and a guy who I respect, and I know they get pissed off at me when I say this stuff, but again, it doesn’t matter. Unfortunately — or fortunately — I’m the one that makes these decisions. I’m going to have to sit down and talk to him. I don’t want to see him get hurt, or anyone else.”
TORONTO — Frank Mir would have us believe that he was never really out of it after getting rocked by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the first round of their heavyweight tilt at UFC 140. Instead, he was merely “wobbled,” he said. He’d also have us believe that was bound to get out of danger whether Nogueira had stopped hitting him and gone for a choke or not, even if UFC president Dana White was among those who simply wasn’t buying either claim.
It almost makes you wonder how seriously to take Mir’s other major statement on the night, this one regarding rumors that Alistair Overeem might have to withdraw from his UFC 141 fight with Brock Lesnar on December 30.
“If the rumors that you’re hearing are true, I wouldn’t mind having to step in for Overeem and taking on Brock,” said Mir. “I’m pretty healthy and three weeks isn’t bad turnaround.”
And why not? He may have come within one or two punches of being knocked completely out by Nogueira in a back-and-forth one-rounder, but Mir talked like a man who had hardly suffered any damage at all before getting the submission win in a wild affair.
As he explained: “I only fought a three-minute fight, so I’m feeling pretty good. My wife might not be happy about Christmas but, eh, she can deal with it.”
As for Nogueira, his holiday season is looking especially grim. White, who denied the Overeem withdrawal rumors, revealed after the press conference that he was planning to fly Nogueira back to Las Vegas with him on Sunday morning so he could have surgery on his injured right arm as soon as possible. He also said that he knew Nogueira was headed for trouble when Mir locked up the kimura, and nothing about the Brazilian’s history or posture suggested that he was ready to tap.
“Nogueira’s a jiu-jitsu black belt, probably the best submissions heavyweight of all time, you know when you get caught in that thing to tap,” White said. “You know to tap out to that. It’s what happens if you don’t.”
Mir said he knew what the likely outcome would be when he secured the kimura, and the only thing left to do was to go ahead and finish it.
“I had a strong inclination that he was not going to tap, so I took a deep breath and you guys saw what happened,” he said.
The injury drew pained groans from the crowd at the Air Canada Centre when it was replayed several times on the big screen. It’s the latest in a serious of injuries that have piled up on Nogueira of late, and though he hasn’t taken the knockouts that some of his contemporaries have, he might still have to sit down for a serious talk with the boss, White said.
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“You’ve got to look at a guy’s entire career, not just how it’s ending. Big Nog’s been in wars, man. I was at the Pride fight when he fought Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ [Filipovic], and ‘Cro Cop’ was just blasting him with kicks to the body and shots to the head, and then he ends up pulling off that submission win in the second round. He’s had a career where he’s been through wars.
“Big Nog is a nice guy and a guy who I respect, and I know they get pissed off at me when I say this stuff, but again, it doesn’t matter. Unfortunately — or fortunately — I’m the one that makes these decisions. I’m going to have to sit down and talk to him. I don’t want to see him get hurt, or anyone else.”
The fighters for tomorrow night’s UFC 140 event just finished weighing in at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, with 23 of the 24 competitors coming in at or below their contracted limits. The sole fuck-up was Dennis Hallman, who was scheduled to make his lightweight debut against John Makdessi. Instead, he crushed the scales at 158.5, and was granted some extra time to get down to 156. And he’d better make it happen, considering that he’s already on the UFC’s bad side due to his unfortunate wardrobe choice in his last fight. Update: Hallman has been fined 20 percent of his purse for failing to make weight.
The other item worth noting is that Frank Mir weighed in 21 pounds heavier than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for their heavyweight rematch. Three years ago, their size difference was only five pounds. The full list of “Jones vs. Machida” weigh-in results is after the jump. Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the pay-per-view main card, and catch up on our previous UFC 140 coverage on the Main Event page.
The fighters for tomorrow night’s UFC 140 event just finished weighing in at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, with 23 of the 24 competitors coming in at or below their contracted limits. The sole fuck-up was Dennis Hallman, who was scheduled to make his lightweight debut against John Makdessi. Instead, he crushed the scales at 158.5, and was granted some extra time to get down to 156. And he’d better make it happen, considering that he’s already on the UFC’s bad side due to his unfortunate wardrobe choice in his last fight. Update: Hallman has been fined 20 percent of his purse for failing to make weight.
The other item worth noting is that Frank Mir weighed in 21 pounds heavier than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for their heavyweight rematch. Three years ago, their size difference was only five pounds. The full list of “Jones vs. Machida” weigh-in results is after the jump. Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the pay-per-view main card, and catch up on our previous UFC 140 coverage on the Main Event page.
MAIN CARD (PPV; 9 p.m. ET)
Jon Jones (205) vs. Lyoto Machida (204)
Frank Mir (260) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (239)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (204.5) vs. Tito Ortiz (206)
Brian Ebersole (170.5) vs. Claude Patrick (171)
Mark Hominick (145) vs. Chan Sung Jung (145.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ION Television; 7 p.m. ET)
Igor Pokrajac (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (206)
Jared Hamman (185) vs. Constantinos Philippou (185)
Dennis Hallman (158.5) vs. John Makdessi (155.5)
Yves Jabouin (136) vs. Walel Watson (135.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Mark Bocek (156) vs. Nik Lentz (156)
Rich Attonito (170.5) vs. Jake Hecht (170.5)
John Cholish (156) vs. Mitch Clarke (154.5)
(The CagePotato HR Department: Boldly squashing inter-office disputes since 2007.)
Just like pictures of hot womens and irresponsible opinions, pre-UFC event bickering has become a fixture here at CagePotato. In advance of this weekend’s card in Toronto, we locked Danga and ReX in a miniature Octagon with energy drinks, a blow-up doll, and a set of questions. We were dubious about the doll, but ReX insisted that hilarity would ensue, and he assures us that it did. It wasn’t mentioned in the final article, but some things you just don’t want to ask about.
Come on in past the jump and witness the confusion of two men discussing MMA while being distracted by said hot womens, touching on the subjects of likability, MMA Math, and the potential importance of fashion choices.
(The CagePotato HR Department: Boldly squashing inter-office disputes since 2007.)
Just like pictures of hot womens and irresponsible opinions, pre-UFC event bickering has become a fixture here at CagePotato. In advance of this weekend’s card in Toronto, we locked Danga and ReX in a miniature Octagon with energy drinks, a blow-up doll, and a set of questions. We were dubious about the doll, but ReX insisted that hilarity would ensue, and he assures us that it did. It wasn’t mentioned in the final article, but some things you just don’t want to ask about.
Now, to the questions:
Does Lyoto stand a Crane kick’s chance in hell of winning this weekend?
RX: Funny you should mention the Crane kick, since I think Machida’s offense will give Jones some pause. Let’s not forget, quite a few pro fighters have been stymied by Machida’s style. In the Rampage fight, Jones was wary in the first round; he didn’t want to catch a big hook and go nighty-night. If he hesitates in the first, Machida can start firing off kicks to minimize Bones’ reach advantage, and it takes exactly one (1) Machida Dragon Kick to separate you from all of your earthly concerns. So… yeah, he’s got a chance. And all this has nothing to do with Machida being on my Official CagePotato Fantasy MMA Team, ok?
Look, I just want to see Jones take a good punch, ok?
Danga: Same here brother, but let’s think about this for a second: Lyoto Machida is known for one thing, utilizing distance and being elusive. Ok, two things.
Danga: No, now pay attention. Aside from being far too tentative, Machida’s main problem is that no kind of flying razzmatazz manuever is going to make up for the fact that he suffers nearly a foot reach disadvantage to Bones. I don’t care how much smaller his practice octagons were, come Saturday night he is going to have nowhere to go. Hell, Rua barely had a reach advantage on him and managed to keep Machida at bay for the most part. I’d also like to note that the size of Machida’s chin is significant in…er…nevermind.
Which fight is the Dark Horse for FOTN?
RX: Well, I’d think Hominick-Jung is the favorite to win FOTN, but dark horse candidate? Hamman-Phillippou could be a knockdown-dragout, what with Hamman’s ability to take punishment. How about Jabouin-Watson? Walel “The Gazelle” Watson is ridiculously long at bantamweight, has an arsenal of sick chokes, and he’s faster than my first lap dance. Plus he’s with Team Hurricane Awesome MMA Team of Awesomeness, which is a totally real thing –a CagePotato-approved camp out of San Diego — so i expect big things from him. Jabouin is no push-over of course, so we could be in for some fun back and forth exchanges. If it lasts more than sixty seconds, it could be a real crowd-pleaser.
Danga: When I initially looked at this list, I also thought that the Hominick-Jung scrap looked like a clear front runner for FOTN. Then I sat down, drank a Blue Moon with my lady, grew up, drank a Genesee Original Draft, and came to my senses. I know Jung has developed a new style and all, but Hominick is going to DESTROY him. I hate to use MMA math here, but Hominick DESTROYED the guy who DESTROYED Jung, and therefore will knock Jung out in the first 30 seconds.
RX: My head hurts. MMA MATH IS HARD. i never know what to do with the damn exponents. Do i add them or multiply? *inputs 58008 into calculator, snickers*
Danga: Haha. Boobs…what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, Fight of the Night, which is going to Mir/Nogueira. Mir is out to prove that the first match was no fluke, and is also in desperate need of an exciting match if he doesn’t want to float aimlessly amidst the heavyweight pool for the rest of his career. Plus, when has Big Nog ever been in a boring fight?
RX: Boobies?
Danga: Exactly.
Which Nog do you like more, not just on a personal level, but to win come Saturday night?
RX: Big Nog, all the way. First of all, because he’s fighting Frank Mir. Mir is a cerebral and articulate, and probably a great guy, but he just comes across as a pompous smarty-pants at times and people don’t like especially like him. That makes the already beloved Nogueira that much more likable on a personal level. Big Nog suffered his first stoppage loss ever to Mir three years ago (damn, has it been that long?), but i’m rolling with the “staph and injuries” story. Nogueira will be avenging that loss Saturday night. He has to. Otherwise Mir will be back in the championship hunt, and Nog will be in with Mark Hunt, and i’ll be confused and think it’s 2004 again.
Danga: Yeah, Big Nog. And don’t tell my skinny jeans that’s it’s not 2004.
Related: Little Nog is perilously close to losing three in a row, particularly if you felt that Jason Brilz deserved the decision win back at UFC 114. Would Dana cut a Nogueira?
Danga: There’s no way he’ll get cut, but do we really want to live in a world where Lil Nog is the Dan Hardy of the Light Heavyweight division? I feel icky just mentioning them both in the same sentence.
RX: Yeah, LOL j/k i’m a dumb n00b. With future plans in Brazil monster arenas and international TUF competitions, Dana will never never never never cut a Nogueira. (He will start getting lots of gatekeeper matchups, though.)
Will Canada go undefeated on the night? More importantly, what can we do to ensure Canada doesn’t go undefeated on the night?
RX: The Canucks have some tough fights on their hands, including Jabouin, Bocek (against Nik Lentz), and Claude Patrick, who matches up with the wildly unpredictable Brian Ebersole.
Danga: I’m going to go out on a limb and say yes. Bocek is better everywhere than Lentz, Patrick should be able to out grapple Ebersole, and Hominick and Jabouin are just on a different level than their opponents.
RX: I’ll say no, but it’s too close for comfort. We need to get an American agent up there for the weigh-ins to tempt the Canadian fighters with gummi bears and ice cream. Or poutine and Elsinore beer. Whatever it takes.
Danga: I think I know a guy who’d be more than willing.
What’s the over/under on the length of Dennis Ballman’s fight shorts?
RX: Doesn’t matter: i’ll take the over.
Danga: After the beating he took from both Ebersole and DW for his last…let’s call it wardrobe malfunction, I’m thinking Hallman makes his way to the octagon in snow pants, only to reveal a pair of Shinya Aoki/Karmaatemycat-esque pair of what I refer to as “the fighter’s Long Johns” for the fight itself. I’ve already thought too much about this…so how bout that Brittney Palmer?
RX: I wouldn’t be surprised if Hallman showed up in a burka. As a matter of fact, If Hallman wears anything less than knee-length board shorts in the cage, *i’ll* put on a Training Mask mankini.
Danga: Thanks, I totally didn’t want to eat any lunch today, anyway.
Two days after he broke the arm of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140, Frank Mir said that he felt badly for Nogueira’s injury, but he expressed pride in his first-round submission finish.
The UFC’s streak of stellar fight cards continued in Toronto on Saturday night, and the Canadian fans showed all the intelligent appreciation we’ve come to expect of our 
TORONTO — 
