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 Results See Tim Boetsch Make A Big Statement At 185 PoundsTim Boetsch has saved his mixed martial arts career by moving down to 185 pounds. He dominated Kendall Grove at UFC 130 en route to his first victory at middleweight. He has the potentia…
UFC 130 Results See Tim Boetsch Make A Big Statement At 185 Pounds
Tim Boetsch has saved his mixed martial arts career by moving down to 185 pounds. He dominated Kendall Grove at UFC 130 en route to his first victory at middleweight. He has the potential to be a force for a long time to come as a result of the weight cut.
The former 5150 Combat League light heavyweight champion could have stayed at 205 pounds in UFC, but he would have found himself dragging on preliminary cards for a long time.
Instead, he will be a force to be reckoned with in a division that features a number of really great fighters, led by Anderson Silva. While Boetsch is not at that level, he has the potential to be a contender in the very near future.
Against Grove, Boetsch was dominant. He showed excellent stand up and striking. He got takedowns at will. He was too big and strong for Grove to do anything with on the ground.
That loss to Phil Davis at UFC 123 was the best possible thing that could have happened to Boetsch. He now knows where his future is in mixed martial arts. He made a strong impression in his first fight at middleweight and should get a much better opponent his next time out.
He wasn’t big enough or strong enough to compete with the guys at light heavyweight, as Davis clearly showed, but at middleweight he is right at home. This fight was the beginning of bigger and better things to come for Boetsch in UFC.
UFC 130 Was The Crowning Of Brian Stann As The Next Great Middleweight ContenderIf UFC 125 was the star-making performance of Brian Stann, then UFC 130 was the day he became a true championship contender. The former U.S. Marine looked damn good once ag…
UFC 130 Was The Crowning Of Brian Stann As The Next Great Middleweight Contender
If UFC 125 was the star-making performance of Brian Stann, then UFC 130 was the day he became a true championship contender. The former U.S. Marine looked damn good once again by knocking out Jorge Santiago in the first round of their fight at UFC 130 last night.
The UFC middleweight division currently has a championship fight booked between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami at UFC Rio this summer. It’s a good fight, and Okami is certainly deserving of his opportunity, but Stann deserves the next shot at the title thanks to his strong performances in the octagon.
Stann’s game has really evolved lately, to the point where he is one of the most exciting fighters in all of mixed martial arts. Whenever he is on a card, you want to make a point to stop and watch him because you know you are going to see something special.
UFC loves a fighter like Stann. Not only he does he put on the kind of fights that they love to market, but he has a good story as a former military man and a good personality that makes it easy to sell a fight.
I don’t know what UFC has planned for the middleweight championship after Silva and Okami square off, they probably don’t even have a clue right now, but I know that Stann has earned the right to compete for the top prize in the division as soon as possible.
Dana White is a smart businessman. He knows that there is a strong desire to see Stann fight and fight against the best in the world. There is no reason not to give Stann his moment in the sun. He has done everything that he can to get this shot.
UFC 130 Results See Matt Hamill Dominated In The Biggest Fight Of His Professional CareerMatt Hamill did everything that he could to get a fight against Quinton Jackson. He practically got down on his knees and begged Dana White and Joe Silva to make t…
UFC 130 Results See Matt Hamill Dominated In The Biggest Fight Of His Professional Career
Matt Hamill did everything that he could to get a fight against Quinton Jackson. He practically got down on his knees and begged Dana White and Joe Silva to make this fight. They granted his wish last night at UFC 130 and it did not go the way that he was hoping. He is now left to wonder what will become of his career after last night’s decisive loss.
Hamill entered the fight having won his last five fights and seemed poised to become a real contender in the light heavyweight division if he could get by Jackson.
Sadly, things did not break his way at all. He looked very bland going for a number of weak takedowns that Jackson easily stuffed. His standup, which had been improving, really let him down last night. He got in a couple of decent shots to Jackson’s head, but nothing that came close to knocking him out.
This was the moment that Hamill wanted. He wanted a big name fighter to make his reputation and he blew it. He didn’t look good, and now he has to start all over again.
Hope is not lost for this young man, who does have the talent to be more than a mid-card fighter, but he will have to go back to basics for his next fight to figure out why he couldn’t keep up with Jackson. He will have to vary his style up a bit because his takedowns were awful. There was almost no life to anything that he was doing.
His first shot in the spotlight did not go as planned, but he will have plenty more opportunities to shine against the best light heavyweights in the world. As long as he tries to get more substance behind the style that he already has in tow.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)
When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.
Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.
(“Hold up…you mean ya’ll were watching that shit???”)
Coming off of a semi-contested and equally boring win over Lyoto Machida, Rampage’s performance last night was meant to be more than a notch in the win column. If all went according to plan, it would have provided the UFC with the type of highlight-reel footage Jackson hasn’t produced since his knock out victory over Wanderlei Silva in 2008 and had fans clamoring for a fight against Jon “Bones” Jones. But last night’s fight yielded few fireworks if any. Hamill’s mantra in the lead-up to the bout was that he would break Jackson’s will, but only a few minutes into the bout it was “The Hammer” who looked like he’d rather be anywhere than in that cage. Going 0-17 in his plodding, telegraphed takedown attempts, Hamill was unable to get the fight to the ground and understandably reluctant to stand and trade with Rampage. As for Jackson, he did deviate slightly from his hands-heavy style–incorporating knees, elbows, and even a few token kicks into his attack–but he didn’t initiate or go in for the kill against a clearly gun-shy Hamill. After the fight, Jackson put some of the blame on a fractured hand he injured back in December of last year. [Note to Quinton: we believe you and all, but you’re not supposed to talk about that kind of stuff, bruh.] . Despite the lackluster performance, Dana White has stated that pending the positive outcome of tests on Rampage’s hand, he will likely be the first challenger to Jones’s belt.
If there were any questions about Frank Mir’s place in the heavyweight division following his first-round loss to Shane Carwin and coma-inducing win over faded star Mirko Cro Cop, they remain completely unanswered. His one-sided victory over the obese Roy Nelson says less about his dedication to training than it does “Big Country’s” lack of it. The time has come to call the “Big Country” experiment a flop. The myth of his terrific cardio has been dispelled in consecutive losses to Dos Santos and Mir, where he served as a very exhausted, very durable durable punching bag for the full three rounds. The dude has a terrific chin—did he even blink when he ate those crushing elbows late in round three?–but the notion that he can walk into the Octagon with Cheeto fingers and compete with the top of the division is absurd. Fatigue reduced his vaunted ground game to rolling to his ample belly and working his way to his feet; it’s an impressive trick even without Frank Mir on top of him, but it’s not enough to compete at this level. Mir looked good taking Nelson down at will and landing some heavy shots, but it’s fair to say that “Big Country” was looking for the path of least resistance throughout the fight, even if it meant getting smashed in the face or tossed to the mat. Despite his lethargic performance, Nelson does possess power in his hands- Mir left the Octagon with a broken jaw and rib to accompany his win bonus.
As for the rest of the card, they did their part to entertain and it’s a shame that their work was soured by the last thirty minutes of cage-time. Brian Stann opened the night with big knockout over the returning Jorge Santiago in the “Fight of the Night”. UFC heavyweightTravis Browne secured his spot on a future ‘Ultimate Knockouts’ dvd by felling mighty oak Stefan Struve in spectacular fashion. Demetrius “Mighty Mouse” Johnson won a tough-to-call decision over Miguel Torres in a hyper-active fight contested largely on the ground. Top Welterweight Thiago Alves was given no room to work against Rick Story. Story kept constant pressure on Thiago, pressing him to the cage and working for takedowns. His decision victory marks his sixth straight win in the UFC. Tim Boetsch looked dominant in his first fight at Middleweight, rag-dolling Kendall Grove in a one-sided decision. This was Da Spyder’s second consecutive loss and his third in four outings. Late replacement Rafaello Oliveira was overpowered by Lightweight juggernaut Gleison Tibau. Tibau’s second round ground and pound forced Oliveira to surrender his back and tap out to a rear naked choke in the evening’s only submission.
UFC 131 Will See Junior dos Santos Challenge Shane Carwin, Will The Change Be To Cigano’s Advantage?Junior dos Santos spent weeks getting ready for a fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 131. His preparation had to be altered two weeks ago when it was announ…
UFC 131 Will See Junior dos Santos Challenge Shane Carwin, Will The Change Be To Cigano’s Advantage?
Junior dos Santos spent weeks getting ready for a fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 131. His preparation had to be altered two weeks ago when it was announced that Lesnar had to pull out of the fight because the diverticulitis that kept him out of action for a year between 2009-10 had returned. Dos Santos got a replacement opponent in the form of Shane Carwin.
Both dos Santos and Carwin will have to prepare diligently since they only had four weeks to prepare for each other. But will the opponent change be an advantage or disadvantage for dos Santos?
Here’s what dos Santos had to say about the late switch and how it affects his preparation (via Tatame.com):
I’m much focused. I’ve been training hard for two months now, there’s almost a month left before the bout, and I’m doing just fine. I’m on a great patch in my life, thanks’ God, I’m feeling fine and I want to fight. I don’t fight for a long time. Last time I fought it was August of 2010, and I’m fine. I’m just not fighting because of the problems my opponents are facing. Of course it brings us some problems, but I believe that God makes things happens on their own time, and now I’ll be ready to go for this one and, God help me, I’ll win.
In all honesty, Carwin is a much better opponent for dos Santos than Lesnar. What I mean by that is Lesnar’s strong wrestling base would have caused dos Santos some problems, and with Carwin, who is not a strong wrestler, he can stand and trade punches and kicks for three rounds.
I don’t know if Lesnar would have been able to beat dos Santos because he got exposed against better strikers like Carwin and Cain Velasquez, and dos Santos is better than both of them at striking, but Carwin isn’t as dynamic as Lesnar.
Dos Santos earned a championship fight after beating Roy Nelson at UFC 117, but he didn’t want to wait until until Velasquez healed following surgery. After UFC 131, dos Santos will not have to delay his championship fight any longer as he will be victorious against Carwin at UFC 131.
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?
