We’ve still got a week to go before our heavyweight title fight at UFC 146, but all of the excitement already has people losing their damn minds. Frank Mir and Junior Dos Santos will clash to determine who is the ‘baddest man on the planet’…at least for another 3-4 months until he inevitably loses the title to the next challenger. Enough dilly-dallying, let’s get to this week’s installment of UFC Primetime.
“Frank was very self-destructive. Drugs, alcohol. I think Frank was pretty much intoxicated for a whole year-and-a-half of his life. It was depression and then falling into a deeper spiral.” Mir’s wife, describing his life after the motorcycle wreck that nearly ended his fighting career, which sounds uncannily like the life of most CagePotato contributors.
We’ve still got a week to go before our heavyweight title fight at UFC 146, but all of the excitement already has people losing their damn minds. Frank Mir and Junior Dos Santos will clash to determine who is the ‘baddest man on the planet’…at least for another 3-4 months until he inevitably loses the title to the next challenger. Enough dilly-dallying, let’s get to this week’s installment of UFC Primetime.
“Frank was very self-destructive. Drugs, alcohol. I think Frank was pretty much intoxicated for a whole year-and-a-half of his life. It was depression and then falling into a deeper spiral.” Mir’s wife, describing his life after the motorcycle wreck that nearly ended his fighting career, which sounds uncannily like the life of most CagePotato contributors.
“To be at such a mercy of others, to have sit there and ask my wife to go get me a glass of water because it was too painful to get up and go in the kitchen to get a glass of water. My back was against the wall, so I was like, you know, I’ll just go and get a job, and I’ll work, and that’s a new life now. And my wife didn’t like that. She felt that I was throwing the towel in too soon. We have to keep striving at getting this until we get it back.” Mir, making me feel bad for asking my girlfriend to get me a beer just because I’m lazy. Aaaaand, I’m over it.
“That’s why I take care of myself. I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t go out at night and do those stupid things, you know. I don’t like those things. I don’t need that.” Dos Santos, stating the painfully obvious.
“My training is very, very hard. In the sparring session we go 100%. I try to do what I’m going to do in the fight.” Dos Santos, describing his five round sparring sessions against five different men. Wait, where on earth does he find five dudes willing to spar with him throwing down at 100%?
“I was always a little out of place as a child, I think due to my size, I was always the biggest kid. In eighth grade I was already over 200lbs and six foot. If you are an individual or there’s something that sets you out of the pack of course you’re going to be the butt of some jokes. I remember one time in sixth grade I was getting pegged with rocks and one of them caught me pretty good in the skull. I had to go home and mom had to drive me to go get some stitches.” Mir, on being bullied in school. That’s what you get for pulling the fire alarm, Frank.
“Dos Santos pretty much does the same thing every fight. He’s undefeated in the UFC and he’s the current holder of the belt. But as far as tricky and surprising, I don’t think you can really put that on him. I know his footwork and his speed, it’s things that are simulatable.” Mir, once again painting a one-dimensional portrait of his opponent.
“I think Dos Santos wants to end it quickly, because you’ve got to be realistic. I heard his corner saying, ‘the only chance Mir has is if it goes to the ground’. Well, the only chance he has is if it doesn’t go the ground. It goes back and forth. He goes to the ground with me, he’s dead. You might as well go ahead and start calling the orthopedic surgeons and prep the room.” Mir, haven’t we been down this road before?
Let me be the first to say that I was pumped for a heavyweight slugfest between Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. Now that those dreams have been snatched away from me with a suspension to Overeem, the UFC brought in a replacement for the main ev…
Let me be the first to say that I was pumped for a heavyweight slugfest between Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. Now that those dreams have been snatched away from me with a suspension to Overeem, the UFC brought in a replacement for the main event.
Frank Mir was already on the card, and frankly, I think he’s a great choice as a replacement. This fight should be competitive and very fan friendly.
Dos Santos has a definite edge in the striking department. He has highlight-reel finishes of Fabricio Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Gilbert Yvel, Gabriel Gonzaga and Cain Velasquez.
The fighters he didn’t finish, he left battered, bruised and bloody. Just ask Shane Carwin.
Mir is no slouch on the feet, but he isn’t in dos Santos’ league when it comes to boxing.
Ground game, on the other hand, is a different matter. Mir is an animal on the ground with powerful submissions and a killer instinct to boot. If you leave an arm hanging out, Mir will take hold and probably take it home to put in his trophy case.
If you don’t believe me, you can ask Tim Sylvia, Antoni Hardonk and, most recently, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Dos Santos is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so he can hold his own, but if this fight goes to the ground, Mir will win.
It is also worth noting that dos Santos’ only loss is by armbar submission.
Overall, this should be a fun fight to watch. Dos Santos is fighting not only to retain his title, but also to avenge his mentor, Nogueira, after Mir submitted him at UFC 140.
Dos Santos could be a little more emotional in the fight due to that extra pressure. If Mir suspects that dos Santos is fighting emotionally instead of strategically, he could catch him and cause a huge upset.
Never count out Mir because in the UFC anything can happen.
That being said, I think dos Santos will win this fight, but I think Mir will be a lot more competitive than most people give him credit for.
No matter who wins this fight, it should prove to be explosive and exactly what every UFC fan dreams of in a heavyweight title fight.
(A class act since the day he was born, Dolloway always takes time out of his day to pose for photos with his adoring fans.)
When I first came across this tidbit of hilarity that Jason Miller told UFC.com during a recent interview, I considering starting this article with some hackneyed statement like “You gotta love Jason Miller,” or “Leave it to Mayhem to-insert stupid sentence here.” But then I paused for a moment, and decided to rewatch his match with Michael Bisping at the TUF 14 Finale. When it was airing live, I happened to be in staying in Boston at a friend’s house, and missed the fight due to an intensely heated game of beer pong that followed an Animals as Leadersconcert we had just attended.
After the game had finished, I quickly shuffled into the living room, wide eyed and silently praying to be greeted by the image of Bisping’s unconscious, purple face. But I was too late. The broadcast had ended. I turned to another buddy of mine, and like a coma patient (or a victim of an H-bomb) being awoken for the first time, I found myself asking, “What happened?” He looked up at me, bitter disappointment in his eyes, and said, “I’m not really sure, but it was really sad. Like watching a rabbit die in slow motion.”
The point is, after talking up such a storm and subsequently getting his ass taken to the cleaners by “The Count,” Miller has more than likely earned the ire of at least a few dozen of you. Kind of like that poor Danga bastard. And once again, it’s do or die time for Mayhem, and here he is, falling back on his old habits. I’m not trying to sound negative, because I think the guy is a pretty entertaining fellow. I just wonder if he’s going to regret saying things like this again:
I just look at who he’s fought in the past, and I look at — you know — I look at who he’s fought in the past, and how I match up with them, and I know that… this should be an easy night for me. On top of that, I trained my ass off. I’m not gonna make this a personal thing with the guy, but at the same time, I’m not gonna pretend to respect him.
There’s a stark contrast between me and him. You can see that I’m mentally tough, and I’m a bit of a masochist, so I’ll take the abuse, and go through it. When the going gets tough, this guy quits, and I’m gonna make him quit. I’m going to knock his fart-face off, and I’m going to send him packing. There’s no way around it.
Ah fuck it, I’m back on the bandwagon.
(A class act since the day he was born, Dolloway always takes time out of his day to pose for photos with his adoring fans.)
When I first came across this tidbit of hilarity that Jason Miller told UFC.com during a recent interview, I considering starting this article with some hackneyed statement like “You gotta love Jason Miller,” or “Leave it to Mayhem to-insert stupid sentence here.” But then I paused for a moment, and decided to rewatch his match with Michael Bisping at the TUF 14 Finale. When it was airing live, I happened to be in staying in Boston at a friend’s house, and missed the fight due to an intensely heated game of beer pong that followed an Animals as Leadersconcert we had just attended.
After the game had finished, I quickly shuffled into the living room, wide eyed and silently praying to be greeted by the image of Bisping’s unconscious, purple face. But I was too late. The broadcast had ended. I turned to another buddy of mine, and like a coma patient (or a victim of an H-bomb) being awoken for the first time, I found myself asking, “What happened?” He looked up at me, bitter disappointment in his eyes, and said, “I’m not really sure, but it was really sad. Like watching a rabbit die in slow motion.”
The point is, after talking up such a storm and subsequently getting his ass taken to the cleaners by “The Count,” Miller has more than likely earned the ire of at least a few dozen of you. Kind of like that poor Danga bastard. And once again, it’s do or die time for Mayhem, and here he is, falling back on his old habits. I’m not trying to sound negative, because I think the guy is a pretty entertaining fellow. I just wonder if he’s going to regret saying things like this again:
I just look at who he’s fought in the past, and I look at — you know — I look at who he’s fought in the past, and how I match up with them, and I know that… this should be an easy night for me. On top of that, I trained my ass off. I’m not gonna make this a personal thing with the guy, but at the same time, I’m not gonna pretend to respect him.
There’s a stark contrast between me and him. You can see that I’m mentally tough, and I’m a bit of a masochist, so I’ll take the abuse, and go through it. When the going gets tough, this guy quits, and I’m gonna make him quit. I’m going to knock his fart-face off, and I’m going to send him packing. There’s no way around it.
Ah fuck it, I’m back on the bandwagon. This statement is awesome for two reasons, the first being that it may be the first time since elementary school that I’ve heard the term “fart-face” used by anybody. The other reason it tickles my funny bone is because, more or less, Miller talks like he’s going to knock C.B. Dollaway out. Considering how horrendous his striking looked against Bisping, and I do mean horrendous, making a statement like that is the best bit of trolling I’ve seen since….well, yesterday. It’s like claiming you will pull off a Kickflip Mctwist in Tony Hawk Pro Skater after biffing a 50-50 grind down a common handrail.
If Dollaway’s previous fights have taught us anything, it’s that he’s got a pretty decent offensive ground game (ask Joe Doerksen or Jesse Taylor) but seems to be lacking defensively (ask Amir Sadollah. Also, Amir Sadollah.). So by, “knock his fart-face off,” I imagine Miller means something more like, “grapple with him until I get ahold of his douchey neck,” but I could be wrong. In either case, you gotta imagine we’re looking a loser-leaves-town matchup, which always adds interest to an otherwise mediocre fight. Miller was lucky to even get a second chance after his aforementioned crash-and burn against Bisping, and has stated himself that he will retire if he loses to Dollaway, who has dropped his past two fights to Mark Munoz and Jared Hamman, and is probable to get the boot with a loss as well.
But I’ll give Miller this, the man owns up to his words, even when they threaten to choke him. When asked about his loss to Bisping, Miller was incredibly genuine and frank when assessing his performance.
Nobody cares about your excuses. The point is get in there and do it right, you know? I threw that fight away, and it was my fault. I’m not going to cry about it — I’m going to look forward, and win the fight on the 26th.
Everybody likes to kick a guy when he’s down, but I don’t give a damn. If I’m man enough to stand in front of my mom and the rest of the world and get my ass kicked, I think I’m strong enough to take some criticism from a guy who never laced on some gloves.
I told (Dana) if I put on a show like that again, I’m quitting. That was ridiculous. That wasn’t me out there; that wasn’t me. I threw that fight away, and so it’s up to me to go ahead and really make a statement on the 26th. The best thing that ever happened to me is me getting beat up by Michael Bisping because I’ve approached my entire career in a completely different light.
Let’s hope so, because Miller seems like a decent enough person in my eyes, and I’d hate to see his UFC hopes and dreams dashed before he can even get a win under his belt. I also just don’t want to see him fall back on Bully Beatdown again if he gets ousted, because that show is fucking garbage.
So what do you think, Potato Nation? Will we be seeing the last of Mayhem in the UFC come May 26th, or will Launchpad McQuack pilot his final mission?
(Let’s be honest, you’d pay to watch these three knuckleheads do *anything*.)
As Danga pointed out yesterday, injuries and surprise drug tests have led to all five of UFC 146‘s main card bouts being altered since they were first announced, which puts “Dos Santos vs. Mir” right up there with MMA’s most cursed events of all time. But let’s be fair — the UFC originally promised us ten aggressive heavyweights bashing the hell out of each other, and they’re still giving us just that. So is UFC 146 a rag-tag bunch of scab-fights, or a compelling lineup in itself? Let’s break it down…
Original main event: Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem Current main event: Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir Advantage:Even. Luckily, our schizophrenic contributor Josh Hutchinson has already presented bothsides of this issue, and I’m leaning towards the idea that Mir as a main-event replacement isn’t a total disaster. At first, we had the two best heavyweight strikers in MMA slugging it out for supremacy. Now, we have…well, who knows? Mir’s brilliant ground game opens up a whole new set of outcomes for this one. And isn’t MMA at its best when it’s chaotic and unpredictable? (I know, some of you just watch for the big muscles, but I’m a true fan, okay bro?)
Original co-main event: Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir Current co-main event: Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva Advantage:Original. And I only say that because Velasquez vs. Mir felt like less of a squash match. Bigfoot really could have used a softer landing in the Octagon; making his UFC debut in a pay-per-view co-main event against a juggernaut ex-champ like Velasquez smells like serious trouble for the Brazilian, who already failed a chin-test against Daniel Cormier in September.
(Let’s be honest, you’d pay to watch these three knuckleheads do *anything*.)
As Danga pointed out yesterday, injuries and surprise drug tests have led to all five of UFC 146‘s main card bouts being altered since they were first announced, which puts “Dos Santos vs. Mir” right up there with MMA’s most cursed events of all time. But let’s be fair — the UFC originally promised us ten aggressive heavyweights bashing the hell out of each other, and they’re still giving us just that. So is UFC 146 a rag-tag bunch of scab-fights, or a compelling lineup in itself? Let’s break it down…
Original main event:Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem Current main event: Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir Advantage:Even. Luckily, our schizophrenic contributor Josh Hutchinson has already presented bothsides of this issue, and I’m leaning towards the idea that Mir as a main-event replacement isn’t a total disaster. At first, we had the two best heavyweight strikers in MMA slugging it out for supremacy. Now, we have…well, who knows? Mir’s brilliant ground game opens up a whole new set of outcomes for this one. And isn’t MMA at its best when it’s chaotic and unpredictable? (I know, some of you just watch for the big muscles, but I’m a true fan, okay bro?)
Original co-main event:Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir Current co-main event: Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva Advantage:Original. And I only say that because Velasquez vs. Mir felt like less of a squash match. Bigfoot really could have used a softer landing in the Octagon; making his UFC debut in a pay-per-view co-main event against a juggernaut ex-champ like Velasquez smells like serious trouble for the Brazilian, who already failed a chin-test against Daniel Cormier in September.
Original main card bout #3:Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Silva Current main card bout #3: Roy Nelson vs. Dave Herman Advantage:Original. See above; Nelson vs. Silva made a lot of sense as a matchup, and I was looking forward to it. Plus, after his February loss to Stefan Struve, I’m not sold on Dave Herman as main-card material.
Original main card bout #2:Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Del Rosario Current main card bout #2: Stipe Miocic vs. Shane Del Rosario Advantage:Current. Unless you’re a big Gabe Gonzaga fan (?), this match just became a lot more relevant. Miocic and Del Rosario are both undefeated up-and-comers with a combined finishing ratio of 94.7%, and the winner of this fight follows in the footsteps of Travis Browne and Lavar Johnson as the hot-shot heavyweight prospect to watch. Personally, I think Miocic is going to emerge from this one as a rising star.
Original main card bout #1:Stefan Struve vs. Mark Hunt Current main card bout #1: Stefan Struve vs. Lavar Johnson Advantage:Even. Look, I’m almost as depressed about Mark Hunt’s injury as Mark Hunt is. Plus, if I’m not mistaken, Struve vs. Hunt represented the greatest height differential in UFC history (13 inches!), which would have been awesome to see, just on an anthropological level. But I think we’re simply replacing one awesome Cinderella story (Hunt’s) with another just-as-good one (Johnson’s). Johnson came to the UFC riding back-to-back losses in Strikeforce, which followed nearly getting shot to death. Few expected him to make an impact in the UFC — and yet he’s already scored first-round knockouts of Joey Beltran and Pat Barry, picking up $130,000 in bonus money in the process. Now he’s re-entering the cage with just a three-week layoff between the Barry fight and this one. Do you believe in miracles?
Final analysis: If the original card was a 9 out of 10, the current card is at least a strong 7.5. Yes, we lost Alistair Overeem, and yes, we gained Dave Herman. But in terms of entertainment value, UFC 146 hasn’t given up a whole lot. Agree or disagree? (Sorry Hutchinson, you can’t do both…)
Australian heavyweight Mark Hunt has been forced to pull out of his upcoming fight against Stefan Struve at UFC 146 due to a knee injury.He will instead be replaced by Lavar Johnson, who is coming off a first-round TKO victory over Pat Barry.The news i…
Australian heavyweight Mark Hunt has been forced to pull out of his upcoming fight against Stefan Struve at UFC 146 due to a knee injury.
He will instead be replaced by Lavar Johnson, who is coming off a first-round TKO victory over Pat Barry.
The news is both a golden opportunity for Johnson and a bitter disappointment for Hunt and his “army” of fans.
Victory over Struve will help Johnson consolidate his position among the heavyweights where he is still considered a journeyman fighter. Last year he had two back-to-back losses in Strikeforce before the Zuffa purchase brought him to the UFC.
He has since notched wo back-to-back victories, with the one against game fighter Barry two weeks ago, thrusting him into the limelight.
Hunt tore his miniscus in his knee in training and has been forced to pull out. In an interview with The MMA (After) Hour, Hunt said:
I’m so gutted about this. I’ve never pulled out of any fight; this is the first time I’ve ever had to pull out of any fight in my career.
I can’t really apologize [to my fans] because it’s not my fault. I do feel bad about everything; I would have loved to have performed…but I can’t apologize because it just happens.
Hunt expects it will take six weeks before he is able to return to training. He added that he would like to fight the winner of Struve and Johnson.
UFC 146, which features an all-heavyweight main card, has been one of the most volatile in the UFC’s history. It was supposed to be headlined by a title fight between Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. But Overeem’s failed drug test meant he was dropped and replaced by Frank Mir.
Mir himself was set to face former champion Cain Velasquez, but now he has been replaced by Antonio Silva, fresh from his move from Strikeforce.
The action will take place on May 26 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
As incredible as it sounds, the UFC 146 main card has taken another major hit. Many fans were looking forward to a striking war between Stefan Struve and hardcore fan favorite Mark Hunt, but a knee injury forced the latter out of the bout. Stepping int…
As incredible as it sounds, the UFC 146 main card has taken another major hit.
Stepping into his place will be the hard-hitting Lavar Johnson, who will fight for the second time in less than 30 days when he steps into the cage with Struve on May 26.
Johnson is on an impressive two-fight win streak since entering the UFC, with knockout wins over tough veterans Pat Barry and Joey Beltran. He earned Knockout of the Night bonuses in both bouts and will get a chance to earn another against “The Skyscraper.”
Johnson is taking this fight on a little more than a week’s notice, and he weighed in on his opponent after the fight was announced:
Struve is a great fighter. He’s a skilled guy with a lot of heart, but I am not worried about his size. His reach is 83 inches and mine is 82, and he doesn’t use his height. He always gets the crap beat out of him, he refuses to quit, then his opponent gasses or has to let up and Struve comes back to win. I am a fan of his, actually, and I’ve cheered for him because of his heart. The only way to beat him is to put him out cold. That’s what I have to do next week and I will do it.”
Also riding a wave of momentum is Struve, who is currently riding a two-fight win streak after taking out Barry and Dave Herman over the last few months. He is looking to move into title contention within the year.
Many fighters would think twice about fighting Johnson on 10 days’ notice, but Struve didn’t hesitate and was just grateful he gets to remain on the card:
Johnson has looked impressive in his first two fights in the Octagon since coming over from Strikeforce, but I’m gonna look even more impressive next week. I really want to thank him for stepping up on such short notice,—I really wanted to fight on this all-heavyweight card—but he’s gonna face the best Stefan Struve you’ve ever seen. The change in opponent doesn’t bother me at all, Mark Hunt was a big puncher, too, and I have trained too hard for this to affect me.”
Struve vs. Johnson will go down on May 26 at UFC 146 as part of an all-heavyweight main card.
Let me be the first to say that I was pumped for a heavyweight slugfest between Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. Now that those dreams have been snatched away from me with a suspension to Overeem, the UFC brought in a replacement for the main event.
