The UFC 146 fight card has gone through its fair share of changes since it was first announced, but two things have remained constant, every fight on the main card will be contested at the heavyweight limit and Junior dos Santos will defend his UFC hea…
The UFC 146 fight card has gone through its fair share of changes since it was first announced, but two things have remained constant, every fight on the main card will be contested at the heavyweight limit and Junior dos Santos will defend his UFC heavyweight crown in the main event.
Barring some last-minute change (not something I am wishing on anyone), we know what the matchups will be on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In an effort to give you some more information on a select number of those fights, what follows are a few things you should know as fight night approaches.
After all the drug scandals, injuries and reshuffling, UFC 146 is finally upon us with what we now hope is a fixed card of heavyweights slugging it out in one of the most anticipated events all year. There’s all to play for on Saturday—and …
After all the drug scandals, injuries and reshuffling, UFC 146 is finally upon us with what we now hope is a fixed card of heavyweights slugging it out in one of the most anticipated events all year.
There’s all to play for on Saturday—and it’s not just Junior Dos Santos putting everything on the line in his first heavyweight title defense against Frank Mir. The night will decide who the next contender will be as the entire division is shaken up and fighters will be moved up or down the ladder in the heavyweight rankings.
Whichever fighter has the most to gain must also have the least to lose. Former champion Cain Velasquez, who is facing Antonio Silva, is already hotly tipped as the next shot for the title. His loss against Dos Santos was seen as an aberration by many who still rank him as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. They and the rest of us are eager to see a rematch between the two, but even if Mir defeats Dos Santos, having Velasquez face Dos Santos instead would still make perfect sense.
In that sense, Velasquez is not the man with the most to gain in terms of how far he will jump up the ladder towards the championship, but it’s certainly a long tumble down should the unthinkable happen and he finds himself in the losing corner on Saturday.
The rest of the card, while consisting of highly rated men, doesn’t contain anyone yet worthy of a title shot. Men like Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve and Antonio Silva are highly accomplished in their own rights, but none have strung together a consistent enough winning streak against elite opponents to be considered close to the belt.
That leaves Frank Mir, who has gone 4-2 in his last six matches, as the fighter with the most to gain at UFC 146. He was unexpectedly thrown in the spotlight after No. 1 contender Alistair Overeem dropped out due to failing a drug test.
Mir has an 11-year history in the sport and has already been a UFC champion. But he was soundly defeated by both Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin (a man who was systematically demolished by Dos Santos), leaving few to place him in their top-five heavyweights.
Mir has since resurrected his career with wins over Mirko “Cro Cop”, Roy Nelson and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and so it is not that outlandish to see him square off against Dos Santos for the belt.
But the fact is, it was a twist of fate and timing that landed him the shot. Many would have preferred to have seen Fabricio Werdum, fresh from a victory against Roy Nelson, in a rematch against Dos Santos. However, Werdum is due to fight later in the summer, so he was unable to make that card.
A loss against Dos Santos, the No. 1 fighter in the division, will drop Mir only a few spots in the rankings and not harm his reputation at all. But a win will secure a remarkable rejuvenation in the sport for this 32-year-old, and possibly earn him a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Junior dos Santos will look to defend his UFC heavyweight belt for the first time this weekend as he lines up against former champion Frank Mir at UFC 146. Get MMA odds for the bout.
Junior dos Santos will look to defend his UFC heavyweight belt for the first time this weekend as he lines up against former champion Frank Mir at UFC 146. Get MMA odds for the bout before the action unfolds in Las Vegas.
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Although Mir’s UFC odds (+350) may intrigue bettors given his experience as a fighter and specifically as a UFC heavyweight title winner, there’s no denying that the younger dos Santos is the -500 favorite for a reason.
Not only has dos Santos gone unbeaten in UFC bouts since his debut in 2008, his distinct skill set lines up with one of Mir’s greatest vulnerabilities. In each of his five career losses, Mir has fallen to punches, most recently by Shane Carwin at UFC 111.
Will dos Santos, well-known as an elite-level boxer in the octagon, be able to strike his way to an early victory? Given the momentum he’s established over the course of the past few years it’s hard to see why not.
Of course, if the two end up on the ground and Mir’s experience comes into play, we may very well see the start of a surprising new reign for the MMA veteran.
Frank Mir is presented the chance to become UFC heavyweight champion again this Saturday at UFC 146 in Las Vegas, right in his home state of Nevada. The current champion, Junior Dos Santos, will attempt to deny the hometown fighter that chance and leav…
Frank Mir is presented the chance to become UFC heavyweight champion again this Saturday at UFC 146 in Las Vegas, right in his home state of Nevada. The current champion, Junior Dos Santos, will attempt to deny the hometown fighter that chance and leave the host crowd with a bad taste in their mouths.
Mir’s best chance to win over the formidable champion is to go back to his base art which he shares with Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier: wrestling.
The team captain of the 2008 USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team, Cormier may be light-years ahead of Mir when it comes to wrestling.
Also way up there is his two-time nemesis Brock Lesnar, who was a former NCAA Division I wrestling champion.
Still, Mir’s winning the Nevada state championship during his teens in that tough sport is nothing to scoff at.
Keeping his confidence and continuously training in his wrestling skills could be his keys to victory come this Saturday night. And, upon securing the takedowns, add ferocious ground-and-pound a la Cormier in beating Josh Barnett.
There is no denying that Mir has one of the most dangerous submission games among the heavyweights, but while it’s true that his vicious 2011 Submission of the Year win over BJJ master Antonio Nogueira in UFC 140 was impressive, remember that it came about from a rather “special circumstance.”
Nogueira thought he was on the brink of pushing Mir off the edge, but uncannily got reversed and was the one who ended up fallen and broken.
Big Nog rocked Mir with an overhand right-jab combo in the first round. Next, he followed his stunned and prone opponent to the ground and started raining more fists.
After landing a number of head strikes, the confident Nogueira shifted to a guillotine-choke hold. Then, one of the most astounding comebacks in MMA unfolded.
Mir, still shaking off the cobwebs, remained all heart. Breaking free of the submission attempt, he scrambled and reversed Nogueira until he hyperextended and injured the latter’s elbow.
Now, will something similar to what befell Dos Santos’s idol and teammate happen this Saturday night? Will lightning strike twice?
Frank Mir has four of his 17 wins coming by way of KO; Dos Santos boasts of 10 out of 14. While anyone can land a “lucky” fight-ending strike, chances are Dos Santos the fearsome striker will be the one to slip one in.
And if Cigano lands it, it will strain credulity to think he just got just lucky.
It’s ground-and-pound en route to a decision win for Mir.
Do I honestly believe that Mir can wrestle down he who was not taken down by Shane Carwin, and in fact was the one who took the latter down twice?
Am I too confident that Mir’s high school state wrestling championship caliber—and whatever remains or has improved of it—still translates to effective MMA takedown skills in the UFC? That his wrestling will suffice in putting the defending champion on his back?
Well, maybe the hometown crowd will remain loud and proud all the way home.
UFC 146 ends one of the most fun months in MMA that I can remember. It’s the first time that the UFC has ever put together an all-heavyweight main card culminating with Junior Dos Santos defending his title against Frank Mir. The card has seen a l…
UFC 146 ends one of the most fun months in MMA that I can remember. It’s the first time that the UFC has ever put together an all-heavyweight main card culminating with Junior Dos Santos defending his title against Frank Mir.
The card has seen a lot of changes, mostly stemming from Overeem’s test for elevated levels of testosterone (14:1 T:E). With so many heavyweight bouts, this card promises to have long-term consequences for the division. There are also some interesting bouts on the undercard which could see some prospects move to the upper tier of their divisions.
With the matches set and the fighters arriving in Vegas for the event, let’s breakdown every fight on the card.
Heading into this weekend’s title bout at UFC 146, Frank Mir isn’t being given a fair advantage on the feet against his opponent, Junior dos Santos.Mir is attempting to leave Las Vegas with the heavyweight title around his waist despite odds makers lab…
Heading into this weekend’s title bout at UFC 146, Frank Mir isn’t being given a fair advantage on the feet against his opponent, Junior dos Santos.
Mir is attempting to leave Las Vegas with the heavyweight title around his waist despite odds makers labeling him as a significant underdog against the Brazilian.
While most critics will point to Mir’s world-class jiu-jitsu as his only chance of winning the bout, the former UFC heavyweight champion believes his striking is being overlooked.
Having defeated such notable strikers like Cheick Kongo, Tim Sylvia and Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, Mir feels he can compete with the champion.
“I think that sometimes it’s overlooked,” Mir told ESPN.co.uk when asked about his striking skills. “Sometimes it comes down to style. And with my style I’ve predominantly done better with people that use more striking or know the submission games.”
Mir’s striking ability has improved throughout the years but fans consider his chin to be susceptible. Out of his five career losses, four of them have seen Mir succumb to strikes via KO/TKO.
Combine that with dos Santos’ hand speed and knockout power, and many fans lean towards the champion to walk away with the title.
But Mir could be provide some difficulty for “Cigano” if he is able to avoid the Brazilian’s exchanges in the pocket and stay on the outside.
Dos Santos’ striking has proved to be successful against all of the heavyweight division so far, but Mir isn’t intimidated to engage.
“I’ve had to work harder on the wrestling-based [fighters] as far as control and position and so that’s why, if you look at my training, it’s geared towards wrestling more because I am so comfortable with the boxing and the kick-boxing aspects and also dealing with submission guys,” Mir told ESPN.co.uk.
After all the drug scandals, injuries and reshuffling,