Tag: Frank Mir

UFC 140 Results: Frank Mir Wants Lesnar If Overeem Can’t Go

Frank Mir submitted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on Saturday night with a textbook kimura arm lock that showed people the extreme dangers of jiu-jitsu in the process. After being rocked with an early right to the temple, Mir calmly gathered his wits a…

Frank Mir submitted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on Saturday night with a textbook kimura arm lock that showed people the extreme dangers of jiu-jitsu in the process.

After being rocked with an early right to the temple, Mir calmly gathered his wits and grabbed hold of a leg for survival. He then defended a choke from Big Nog and the two landed right in a beautiful jiu-jitsu battle.

Many people love seeing to men swing for the fences toward a knockout. For the pure martial arts fan, though, watching these two experts roll was certainly no different.

Mir ended up in dominant position and went for Nog’s arm without hesitation, locking in the beginnings of a kimura. Nog defended and the two rolled for the Canadian crowd which roared as two of the best heavyweight jiu-jitsu players were in a chess battle.

It became clear quickly that Mir’s hold was pretty much locked in. My eyes shifted from the lock to Nog’s other hand, waiting for him to tap. The lock was getting deeper and Mir was relentless, but the Brazilian refused to give.

What happened next is the very real extreme of mixed martial arts, as Mir locked it in even harder and Nog’s arm ripped from the socket to the gasp and the horror of the crowd.

The room was stunned as the referee grabbed Mir off and Nog’s arm went limp. People have to understand that nobody inside or outside that cage wants to see an injury like that—no way no how. Rodrigo knows that he has to tap out in that situation or risk suffering the ultimate consequences.

Mir is now on a three-fight winning streak and must be considered in the top five of the heavyweight division. There were rumours swirling after the fight that Alistair Overeem may have to pull out against Brock Lesnar and Mir made it clear what he thought of that in the post-fight interview.

“If the rumours you are hearing happen to be true I wouldn’t mind stepping in for Overeem and taking on Brock,” Mir said. “I’m pretty healthy, three weeks isn’t a bad turnaround.”

“I only fought a three minute fight so I’m feeling pretty good.”

Check out the full video for Mir’s post-fight comments  

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 140 Aftermath Part II: Broken and Battered

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.

We’ve already broken down the Jones-Machida bout, so we’ll just say the champion definitely gave us something to Skype about. Now, onto the rest of the card.

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.

We’ve already broken down the Jones-Machida bout, so we’ll just say the champion definitely gave us something to Skype about. Now, onto the rest of the card.

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.

Full results (via MMAWeekly):

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

 

– Chris Colemon (@chriscolemon)

 

Frank Mir ‘Wouldn’t Mind’ Replacing Alistair Overeem Against Brock Lesnar

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Frank MirTORONTO — 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.”

 

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Frank MirTORONTO — 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.”

 

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UFC 140 Fight Card: What Would a Frank Mir Win Do to the Heavyweight Division?

Former UFC champions Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will meet again in the Octagon at UFC 140.The first meeting between the two allowed the winner, Mir, to advance into a title shot while the loser, Nogueira was forced down the rankings.The out…

Former UFC champions Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will meet again in the Octagon at UFC 140.

The first meeting between the two allowed the winner, Mir, to advance into a title shot while the loser, Nogueira was forced down the rankings.

The outcome of their rematch could drastically alter the UFC heavyweight rankings again.

With a win, Mir likely positions himself in line for another title shot or at the very least, a matchup with the loser of the next heavyweight title match.

A Mir victory would also likely spell the end of Shane Carwin’s title hopes, as he would be shoved back even further by sitting on the sidelines.

To me, it’s not so much if Mir wins, but how he wins.

If Mir pulls off a convincing victory, like another KO or a submission victory, look for him to be move up the rankings significantly.

Of course, if you consider Mir a top five heavyweight (like myself), there’s only so much farther he can move. You could swap Brock Lesnar or Alistair Overeem at No. three and No. four, and Cain Velasquez is sitting firmly at No. two.

Mir needs the convincing win I mentioned earlier (and in another piece) to solidify his claim for a UFC title shot. He also needs it to please his boss.

It’s no secret Dana White was very annoyed with Mir’s performance at UFC 119 against Mirco “Cro Cop” and White effectively buried the former champion after that fight.

But Mir rebounded nicely with a convincing victory over Roy Nelson who’s notorious for being hard to finish.

A decisive victory over “Big Nog” would mean Mir’s name needs to be next on the list for title challengers after the winner of Lesnar-Overeem.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 140 Predictions: What a Loss Would Mean for Frank Mir

At UFC 140, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir will square off against Antônio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira for the second time.For Mir, who has worked his way back into title contention, Big Nog is another crucial step tow…

At UFC 140, former heavyweight champion Frank Mir will square off against Antônio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira for the second time.

For Mir, who has worked his way back into title contention, Big Nog is another crucial step towards reclaiming the UFC Heavyweight Championship of the Word.

So what happens if Mir loses?

As far as title contention goes, losing to Minotauro Nogueira would deal the final deathblow to his hopes to get a title shot. If Mir ever wants to fight for the title again, he can’t lose this fight. 

In the broader scheme of things, losing a fight to Big Nog isn’t all that bad. Nogueira is the consensus second-best heavyweight in mixed martial arts history. If you’ve got to lose a fight, losing to a living legend that you’ve already beaten once isn’t the end of the world.

So who would Mir fight next?  

How about fighting Big Nog for a third time?

Nogueira needs more than two wins in a row to break back into the heavyweight title picture. His name isn’t Brock Lesnar after all. And Mir would also need to erase the loss to Big Nog if he wanted to get back on track.

It’s unlikely that Nogueira would get a title shot for beating Mir, so if he wins the fight at UFC 140 I think we could expect him to be available for a rubber match against Mir in the early part of next year.

 

Also, because Nogueira lost the first fight by knockout, he would have to beat Mir twice if he wanted to erase the memory of that devastating loss at UFC 92. 

There are also plenty of other fights Mir could take after a loss at UFC 140. A matchup with Fabricio Werdum would be a great fight. And Mir would be the perfect opponent for the loser of Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem.

For years I’ve wanted to see Mir fight Josh Barnett. It might not be possible if Dana White doesn’t let Barnett back into the UFC, but that would be an epic fight.

There’s another possibility too. After losing to Big Nog, Mir might actually want to start thinking about retirement. 

Sounds crazy, right? Here’s why it might be most the sensible thing to do.

Ever since losing his title to a horrific motorcycle accident, Mir has staged failed comeback after failed comeback. Each time he has put together another run at regaining his heavyweight title, he’s been thwarted and frustrated.

Márcio Cruz knocked him out in the first round in his very first fight after the crash, and Brandon Vera knocked him out in the first round two fights later. 

On the next run, he got all the way to a title shot but lost the fight against Lesnar via TKO and complete domination.

 

On his fourth run of trying to reclaim his long-lost 12 pounds of UFC gold, Mir’s dream of a rematch against Lesnar got mauled to death by Shane Carwin.

With a loss to Big Nog, Mir will have tallied a whopping five failed campaigns for reclaiming the title belt. At that point, he will need to ask himself, “Why am I still fighting in the UFC?”  

If his only goal is to get his belt back, he might want to call it a career and take a job calling fights for the UFC or Strikeforce. Mir is one of the most gifted fight callers in all of MMA, and with more and more UFC events on the calendar, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg can’t make it to all of them.

If he’s willing to be the next Matt Hughes and just keep fighting for the love of fighting, then by all means, keep on truckin’ Frank.

But he’s got to face the increased unlikelihood that he will ever be champion again. There are just too many sharks in the heavyweight division today.  

If Mir can’t beat Nogueira in the twilight of of his career, what are his chances against Junior dos Santos, Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar, Alistair Overeem or Cain Velasquez?

Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 140. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the December 10 fight card, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage, results and post-fight analysis. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Sketch Comedy Reminder: The 2011 Fighters Only World MMA Awards Air Tomorrow Night

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightersOnlyMagazine)

Heads up: last week’s Fighters Only World MMA Awards will air tomorrow night at 8pm (ET) on FSN. Judging by their selection of Chael Sonnen as this year’s host, the show’s producers are hoping to add a little heat to their event much like the Golden Globes did courtesy of host Ricky Gervais.

If you needed further evidence that somebody’s going to get all butthurt tomorrow, the above video featuring UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and light-heavyweight contender Phil Davis doesn’t pull any punches. As they climb through a storage unit, the duo take shots at Arianny Celeste, Jon Jones, Cecil Peoples, Wanderlei Silva, and more. It’s definitely worth a couple of minutes of your time.

Yesterday’s skit probably reminded you that a good chin doesn’t always equate to strong acting chops. Then again, there’s only so much you can do with the script you’re handed. Speaking of which, the comedic stylings of Frank Mir await you after the jump.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightersOnlyMagazine)

Heads up: last week’s Fighters Only World MMA Awards will air tomorrow night at 8pm (ET) on FSN. Judging by their selection of Chael Sonnen as this year’s host, the show’s producers are hoping to add a little heat to their event much like the Golden Globes did courtesy of host Ricky Gervais.

If you needed further evidence that somebody’s going to get all butthurt tomorrow, the above video featuring UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and light-heavyweight contender Phil Davis doesn’t pull any punches. As they climb through a storage unit, the duo take shots at Arianny Celeste, Jon Jones, Cecil Peoples, Wanderlei Silva, and more. It’s definitely worth a couple of minutes of your time.

Yesterday’s skit probably reminded you that a good chin doesn’t always equate to strong acting chops. Then again, there’s only so much you can do with the script you’re handed. Speaking of which, the comedic stylings of Frank Mir await you after the jump.

 

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightersOnlyMagazine)

Previously: Randy Couture, Phil Baroni, Gray Maynard Ham It Up for the ‘World MMA Awards’