Tag: Opinion

UFC 130 Results: Is Frank Mir Back in the Heavyweight Title Hunt?

The semi-main event for UFC 130 saw former Frank Mir completely outclass Roy Nelson by earning a unanimous decision victory. The battle was between two of the UFC’s top 10 heavyweights, but did Mir’s dominance put him back in the title hunt…

The semi-main event for UFC 130 saw former Frank Mir completely outclass Roy Nelson by earning a unanimous decision victory. The battle was between two of the UFC’s top 10 heavyweights, but did Mir’s dominance put him back in the title hunt?

Though the fight itself was relatively boring due to the fact that both Mir and Nelson had gassed by the third round, the win was still an important one for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion. After dropping two of his last four fights, it was good to see Mir win back-to-back fights for the first time since 2008.

Of course, it’s hard to tell exactly how good Mir actually was last night, given that Nelson looked as bad as he has at any point in his career. Not only was Nelson slow and lethargic, he seemed to have very little of a gameplan going into the fight. If he did have one at all, it was simply, “hope to land the big right hand.”

That plan didn’t work. But he kept trying. And failing. And trying. And failing.

By the end of the second round, Nelson could barely make it back to his corner. His usually surprisingly solid cardio was his biggest downfall last night.

But Mir took advantage of it, completely dominating the third round. Nelson didn’t land a single power punch in the third round, while Mir began lighting him up with punches between taking him down at will.

Even though Mir was out of energy at the end of the fight, his technique was as good as we have ever seen it. He avoided taking big shots throughout the fight while landing countless of his own. But Mir’s wrestling, which has long been his biggest weakness, was on display in this fight. It may have been the most complete version of Mir yet.

So is he ready to be back in the title picture?

Post-fight rankings have Mir as the consensus No. 5 heavyweight in the UFC right now, only falling behind Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Brock Lesnar, and Shane Carwin. Though he has lost fights to Lesnar and Carwin in the past, he hasn’t yet had his chance at Velasquez or dos Santos.

With both Velasquez and Lesnar out at the moment due to injury/illness, Mir could realistically be considered the No. 3 heavyweight who is able to fight at the moment.

Sure, Velasquez is expected to fight the winner of the UFC 131 main event between Shane Carwin and Junior dos Santos. But then what? He already destroyed Lesnar, and Lesnar is likely going to need at least one fight before he gets a rematch. The loser of Carwin vs. dos Santos will obviously fall out of the immediate title picture. That leaves Frank Mir as the likely next man in line.

Mir is going to need another fight before he’s given a title shot, but is there really anyone ranked below him on the UFC roster who could beat Mir? Some would have said Roy Nelson going into UFC 130, but we all saw how that worked out.

He may not be the champion anymore, but at least for now, Frank Mir has worked his way back into the title picture. Perhaps a win over an up-and-comer would propel him into his next title shot.

Maybe Matt Mitrione or Travis Browne?

Whoever his next opponent is may very well tell us whether Mir will ever have a chance to wear UFC gold again.

UFC 130 Rampage vs. Hamill Fight Card: News, Previews & Predictions, Results and More!

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UFC 130 Results: My UFC 130 MVP, UFC Middleweight Brian Stann

For the better part of the day I was thinking about who were possible MVPs going into last night’s UFC 130 pay-per-view. The card did not lack enough big name fighters, but it did lack any interesting bouts that carried all that much consequence. The m…

For the better part of the day I was thinking about who were possible MVPs going into last night’s UFC 130 pay-per-view. The card did not lack enough big name fighters, but it did lack any interesting bouts that carried all that much consequence.

The main event was a light heavyweight tilt pitting former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Matt Hamill. An upset by Hamill could vault him towards the top of the list as far as MVP’s are concerned or Rampage could gain some momentum with a highlight reel knockout.

The co-main event had occasional training partners Frank Mir and Roy Nelson going toe-to-toe in a matchup of two heavyweight fighters with exceptional grappling skills. Could a slick submission by either man gain them the vaunted Most Valuable Player award for UFC 130?

When it was all said and done I had two fighters in mind. I looked at Rick Story and the fact that he gained the biggest victory of his career against Thiago Alves and backed up all of the pre-fight talk he had unleashed. He kept his promise and proved that calling out and requesting a fight with Alves was a great move on his part.

Then there was Brian Stann, the man who has been making a lot of noise since dropping down to the middleweight division. He was taking on the returning and versatile Jorge Santiago in a bout that could put the winner very close to a shot at the middleweight title.

Both men had impressive showings, but the deciding factor in choosing Stann was he finished his opponent while Story won by unanimous decision. I can’t lie and say that this being Memorial Day weekend and Stann being a decorated Marine and an American hero didn’t add some drama to this story.

The poise Stann showed inside the Octagon no doubt comes from the experiences he has gone through while serving in Iraq. His composure will only help him when the tough gets going and he finds himself in trouble during a fight. There is nothing that can happen to him inside the cage that he hasn’t already seen on the battlefield.

He took on a returning Santiago, a fighter who had gone 11-1 in his last 12 fights. During that time he won the Strikeforce Middleweight Grand Prix by defeating both Sean Salmon and Trevor Prangley in the same night. He then traveled east and went to Japan where he won the Sengoku Middleweight Grand Prix and Middleweight Championship.

Santiago has defeated some very good fighters including Kazuo Misaki twice, the last fight between the two was named the 2010 Fight of the Year. This all goes to show you that Santiago is for real and a legitimate threat in the middleweight division.

That is why Stann deserves the credit he gets and why he deserves to be the UFC 130 Most Valuable Player. He not only defeated Santiago, he had him in danger throughout much of the fight and completely stifled any offense that Santiago tried to muster.

So enjoy your Memorial Day weekend Mr. Stann, enjoy your win over a very good fighter and thank you for putting on a performance worthy of being the UFC 130 MVP. 

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UFC 130 Results: Should Roy Nelson Now Consider Laying off the Whoppers?

So for the longest time, Roy Nelson claimed that his ample belly actually served a few purposes.First, hit gave him a good base when it came to holding people on the mat.That does make a little bit of sense. I think of his belly along the lines of a pa…

So for the longest time, Roy Nelson claimed that his ample belly actually served a few purposes.

First, hit gave him a good base when it came to holding people on the mat.

That does make a little bit of sense. I think of his belly along the lines of a paperweight. As long as it weighs more than what is underneath it, nothing will be able to get away from under it. At 260 lbs, there are few fighters out there that weigh more that it does.

Second, it allowed him to be a larger heavyweight and maintain his cardio.

The whole premises behind this theory is it having more oxygen-hungry muscles requires more oxygen to be supplied to them instead of your cardiovascular system. This premise is flawed.

If you look at his natural frame, “Big Country” is built more like a light heavyweight, just as Frank Mir explained. Having all that extra fat around the mid section might not require oxygen-rich blood to be carried to it, but it sure makes the rest of his muscles need more of it to carry around all that extra mass.

This would explain why he has gassed out fairly early in his last two fights. The oxygen needed for his endurance is being sent to his muscles that are struggling to carry more weight than they should.

Take a look at his last two fights, for example. Against both Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir, Nelson gassed out during the second round. Both dos Santos and Mir would have had no problems finishing him off if it weren’t for his heart, ground skills, and iron chin.

After his disappointing outing against Mir at UFC 130, you have to take Mir’s suggestions about a drop down to light heavyweight for Nelson a little more seriously.

It’s difficult right now to figure out where Nelson stands in the heavyweight division. It’s clear he’s not at the top, but he would need a few fights to determine if he’s at the middle or towards the bottom. If Nelson is looking at his career in the long term, it may not be such a bad idea to skip those third and fourth trips through the buffet and start slimming down.

If Nelson has had the amount of success he has had with all the extra luggage he is carrying around, just think of how great he would look—and how great he may be—with 35 or 40 fewer pounds on his body.

He would be quicker, more powerful, and his cardio would be much improved.

For those of you who think the drop to light heavyweight isn’t possible for Nelson, just remember that Joe Riggs once fought at super heavyweight. He is now a solid welterweight.

Big Country, it’s time that you and Robert Gardner put your weekly Whopper eating contest in the past, look forward at your fighting career, and just think what the move to 205 could do for you.

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UFC 130 Results: Ranking the Top 10 Heavyweights in the UFC

The results are in from UFC 130 and, predictably given the fight card, the heavyweight rankings have been stirred up quite a bit. Frank Mir’s victory over Roy Nelson marked what may be the re-establishment of Mir as one of the top contenders for …

The results are in from UFC 130 and, predictably given the fight card, the heavyweight rankings have been stirred up quite a bit.

Frank Mir’s victory over Roy Nelson marked what may be the re-establishment of Mir as one of the top contenders for the UFC Heavyweight Title. Meanwhile, Travis Browne may be making a push toward the top-10 after his huge knockout over the young, giant phenom, Stefan Struve.

While none of the top-of-the-mountain challengers for Cain Velasquez’s title were fighting tonight, there was still some movement in the rankings, so let’s take a closer look at where things stand after tonight’s UFC 130 pay-per-view event.

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UFC 131 Fight Card: Frank Mir Versus Loser of Shane Carwin vs Junior Dos Santos?

At UFC 130 Frank Mir came out and out-struck Roy Nelson and did a nice job of beating the man who is ranked just above him on many MMA heavyweight rankings.Mir was able to land 63 of a total 82 strikes (77 percent accuracy) on Nelson, and on top of out…

At UFC 130 Frank Mir came out and out-struck Roy Nelson and did a nice job of beating the man who is ranked just above him on many MMA heavyweight rankings.

Mir was able to land 63 of a total 82 strikes (77 percent accuracy) on Nelson, and on top of out-striking him, was able to take him down six of eight times.

So does this win catapult Mir to fight the upper echelon of the UFC’s heavyweight division?

With this win the next fight for Mir should be the loser of the Shane Carwin vs. Junior dos Santos fight at UFC 131, whomever that may be. That fight could help catapult Mir even further and earn himself a nice mention in the UFC heavyweight title picture.

Having Brock Lesnar out certainly helps Mir, and now Mir has become the fourth best heavyweight in the UFC with Lesnar out. 

The fight makes sense, the loser of dos Santos vs. Carwin could use Mir as a bounce back fight and earn themselves a win over big name in the heavyweight division. It wouldn’t be an easy victory for either fighter too with Mir’s ability in the ground game.

Mir vs. Carwin II could be a great reason to have this. Carwin won by KO in round one the last time around. Now with Mir coming off of two straight wins over Nelson and Mirko Cro Cop, things could be different with a more confident Mir.

Mir’s striking also looked very good tonight, even if it was against a Roy Nelson who looked slower then usual. Mir landed some shots, and unfortunately, Nelson has a good chin that has withstood a lot in his last two fights.

So with UFC 131 in the near future, this win over Nelson could help Mir earn a fight with either Carwin or dos Santos and it is very logical.

Hey who knows, maybe it could be the co-main event of one of the cards in the fall.

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UFC 130: Is Miguel Torres One of the Most Underappreciated Fighters Ever?

One of the most skilled fighters to come out of the UFC and WEC merger, Miguel Torres was on a roll in his early days with the WEC.Defending his bantamweight championship belt three times, Torres was one of the most highly touted fighters in the lower …

One of the most skilled fighters to come out of the UFC and WEC merger, Miguel Torres was on a roll in his early days with the WEC.

Defending his bantamweight championship belt three times, Torres was one of the most highly touted fighters in the lower weight class divisions.

Enter Brian Bowles.

Looking to defend his title for a fourth time, Torres failed, knocked out by Bowles in the first round.

The jiu-jitsu ace didn’t rebound well either, tapping out to Joseph Benavidez last March.

The once highly praised Torres now seemed to be pushed to the back of everyone’s minds.  How could opinion of his skill change that quickly?

Unfortunately forgotten by the fickle fans, Torres quietly bounced back, slowly accumulating two consecutive wins coming into tonight’s fight with Demetrious Johnson.

Lost in all the talk of Urijah Faber versus Dominick Cruz, the former WEC champion is looking to fly back onto everyone’s radar and enter title contention.

Let’s not forget, Torres was one of the most dominant champions while in the WEC, defeating the likes of Japanese superstar Takeya Mizugaki and Pride veteran Yoshiro Maeda.

A win over “Mighty Mouse” will definitely bring Torres more attention as he looks to plow through the UFC’s newly added bantamweight division.

If the former champion can keep up his winning ways, look for him to fight for the belt real soon.

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