Frank Mir vs. Daniel Cormier Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Daniel Cormier will make his UFC debut this Saturday on FOX, and he will step right in to the deep end of the pool against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.Mir has been out of action since suffering a defeat to then champion Junior dos Santos …

Daniel Cormier will make his UFC debut this Saturday on FOX, and he will step right in to the deep end of the pool against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.

Mir has been out of action since suffering a defeat to then champion Junior dos Santos last May. Time off and a change of camp to Jackson’s MMA will try to put him back on the map this Saturday.

This is a premier fight in the heavyweight division. Two elite heavyweights. Cormier will try and make a case for a title shot in his next bout, and Mir wants to play spoiler and upset the rising prospect. This fight can go any number of ways.

This is a head-to-toe breakdown of the fight before Saturday’s action gets underway.

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Ramsey Nijem Expecting War with Myles Jury at UFC on Fox 7

A young fighter looking to establish himself in the UFC is a difficult task unto itself. But when the path to do so involves battling through one of the deepest and most competitive divisions under the UFC banner, the challenges are going to come fast …

A young fighter looking to establish himself in the UFC is a difficult task unto itself. But when the path to do so involves battling through one of the deepest and most competitive divisions under the UFC banner, the challenges are going to come fast and furious.

The pace and constant pressure to progress can be a nightmare for up-and-coming talent, but thus far in his journey, 25-year-old Ramsey Nijem has taken each step in stride.

As a finalist in the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter, the John Hackleman-trained fighter came up short in his bid to earn the coveted six-figure contract. Despite the setback in his Octagon debut, Nijem charged back with vigor and has claimed victory in his last three outings.

The California native’s impressive run of performances and unorthodox style have put him on the map as a developing prospect in the UFC’s ultra-competitive lightweight division, and he has no intention of letting his foot off the gas as he looks to continue making his way up the divisional ladder. 

Nijem will square off with another rising prospect this weekend in San Jose when he mixes it up with fellow TUF alum Myles Jury at UFC on Fox 7. The bout will feature two fighters looking to lead the next wave in the 155-pound weight class, and Nijem is looking forward to the scrap on Saturday night.

The Pit Elevated fighter recently spoke with Bleacher Report’s The Ultimate Show, where he discussed his upcoming tilt with Jury and much more.

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UFC on Fox 7 Prelim Fighters Battle for Main Card Recognition

There is not a fighter currently in the UFC that doesn’t aspire to be featured on the main card of any televised event whether it’s pay-per-view, Fox, FX or otherwise. The main card signifies recognition from the UFC in a number of ways for a fighter.&…

There is not a fighter currently in the UFC that doesn’t aspire to be featured on the main card of any televised event whether it’s pay-per-view, Fox, FX or otherwise.

The main card signifies recognition from the UFC in a number of ways for a fighter.  It means a fighter is climbing up the ranks and should be seen by a wider audience.  It means the fighter is somebody fans want to watch or should take notice of when they compete. 

For the fighter, beyond recognition from the UFC, it also means larger paydays and bigger sponsorships because the more eyeballs on a fight translates into better opportunities.

Several high-profile managers confirmed when speaking to Bleacher Report that the difference for a fighter competing on the main card versus the preliminary show can mean huge sums of money.  Some fighters can draw rates up to 600 percent higher when showcased on a pay-per-view or a Fox card.

There are also situations where a fighter can benefit from being featured on an FX card depending on the selling power of a pay-per-view, but typically across the board every manager agrees it’s better for a fighter’s career to be on the main card versus any other slot on a show’s lineup.

This weekend, like most UFC events, a mix of fighters will be showcased on either FX or Facebook as the preliminary bouts that essentially serve as a warm-up to the main card.  The preliminary fights are kind of like the opening band at a big concert.  They are there to get the crowd ready for the big act that’s about to hit the stage.

It’s not a bad spot to have by any means because millions of fans still have access to watch the fights worldwide, and on a network like FX, as previously mentioned, it could mean potentially bigger numbers than even a pay-per-view might draw.  The goal, however, is to make it to the main card, and there are several competitors this weekend fighting at UFC on Fox 7 who are battling for wins and a little bit of recognition.

Former Ultimate Fighter finalist Ramsey Nijem will be looking for his fourth win in a row this weekend since dropping down to 155 pounds. Nijem doesn’t mind the slow and easy approach to his career when it comes to fighting on the preliminary portion of the show.

He’s also realistic about where he fits into the pay scale of the UFC as he still serves out his original contract from being on the reality show. Typically, fighters coming off of the Ultimate Fighter are set at a certain level, and once they complete that deal then they can renegotiate for a different contract.

“Taking it one fight at a time, and they keep matching me up with similar guys as me in the lightweight division right now.  I’m okay with that because I don’t want to go fight a guy that’s making ten times the money I’m making while I’m still under the Ultimate Fighter contract,” Nijem told Bleacher Report recently.  “I want to just build my name and reputation and then when I’m out of it I can start taking bigger fights.  I’m still developing as a fighter, I don’t want to rush into anything yet.

“I’m in like an entry way job.  I’m still making entry wage pay.  So it’s not like I’m going to fight a guy making $200 grand and pay-per-view cuts and I’m making $10,000 or $14,000 whatever I’m making this next fight.”

Nijem‘s opponent Myles Jury finds himself in a similar situation after competing on the 15thseason of the reality show.  Jury is 2-0 since exiting the show but also understands that he has to earn his way to the main card.

While there’s no set of rules the UFC sets forth on how a fighter can make the main card, sometimes it’s about the matchup, and other times it’s about they style of fighter and how exciting they can make a bout.  A little personality goes a long way as well when a fighter is willing to talk and promote a card.

Jury plans on being himself and not portraying some over-the-top character just to get featured on television.  He figures getting there the old fashioned way with hard work is a better approach.

“I’m not like Chael Sonnen or some of these other guys that like to talk their way up to big fights. I just do me.  I stay true to myself, I stay original to myself.  I’m my own unique person.  I’m not going to change no matter what.  I’m just going to keep being me and as long as I keep winning, people will respect that,” said Jury.  “Sometimes I’ll just be zoning out and I’ll think it would just be cool to fight on the main card of a pay-per-view or what not. 

“On the main card you get more sponsors and more opportunity, more exposure, all that stuff. At the end of the day, I feel like fighting in the UFC’s a gift. Honestly I could really care less.  I don’t know if that’s bad to say.”

Being employed by the UFC is another thing just about every professional fighter desires, so Jury is correct in that regard. But that doesn’t mean advancement isn’t possible.  It’s no different than landing a dream job with a company and then climbing up the ranks.

UFC featherweight Darren Elkins is another preliminary fighter with main card dreams, but he’s also gunning for a title shot this weekend.

A winner of five fights in a row at 145 pounds, Elkins seized the opportunity to face No. 1 ranked Chad Mendes this weekend at UFC on Fox 7 on short notice when his original opponent, Clay Guida, dropped out due to injury.  Like any fighter, Elkins wants to be recognized for his victories on the way to the top, but his goals take him to the height of the sport with a gold belt wrapped around his waist in the near future.

“I look at this as a situation to put me where I want to be at,” Elkins said in an interview with Bleacher Report.   “It’s a guy that’s going to put me in a title shot position. In everyone’s rankings he’s either one behind Jose Aldo or one behind that, he’s No. 2 or 3 in all the rankings.  His only loss is to the champion.  There’s no doubt this is a great opportunity to shoot up the rankings.

“If I put on a great performance I think that’s going to be the key. We have to go out there and show who deserves a title shot.”

A title shot in the featherweight division would also guarantee Elkins his first trip to the main card of a UFC show.  Through seven fights, Elkins has never tasted what it’s like to be featured on the main card, but he hopes to change all that with a win over Mendes this weekend.

Of course every fighter is going to approach the opportunity to fight in the UFC differently, whether it’s on the main card or the preliminary portion of the show. 

Nijem is just showing patience, and he knows that if he keeps winning there’s no denying him a spot in a big fight down the road.  He looks at this fight and however many more he has to take while competing on the prelims as a chance to get better and improve. 

When the time is right, Nijem knows he’ll get the call up to the big show and then he’ll have his chance to shine.

“Once I’m on a good streak and can renegotiate and everything like that, I feel like I’m fighting guys at the same tier as me right now,” said Nijem.  “I want to keep building my name as a top lightweight.”

His opponent tries to ignore all the talk about main cards and prelims because he has no control over where he’s placed.   Sure, there are times Jury wonders why one fight or fighter is on a main card, but ultimately he trusts UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby to make the right calls.

“What really helps me to not even think about that stuff is I really have no control of it,” said Jury.  “I see some guys get on the main card and I’m like they definitely deserve that. Then I see other people and I’m like how did they get there?  You’ve just got to go out there and be yourself.  I really have no control over there.”

All three fighters will try to stake a claim this weekend on the UFC on Fox 7 prelims.  Depending on the outcome, it could mean a trip to the main card the next time they step foot in the Octagon.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.

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Killing the King: Benson Henderson UFC Lightweight Champion

Those of you who have followed my work since my time at Bloody Elbow will be familiar with my Killing the King series, but it has been quite some time since I wrote a piece in this series. The Killing the King series is my attempt to hypothetically tak…

Those of you who have followed my work since my time at Bloody Elbow will be familiar with my Killing the King series, but it has been quite some time since I wrote a piece in this series. The Killing the King series is my attempt to hypothetically take apart the champions of each UFC division.

It is the great temptation of anyone in the MMA media to simply declare that a fighter was “too good” or “hungrier” to explain away any victory but this causes us to forget the very nature of fighting.

Everyone is making mistakes all the time. It is not about who is making the least mistakes, but who forces and capitalizes on the most mistakes from his opponent. 

The moment we forget that and start treating Anderson Silva, Jon Jones or Fedor Emelianenko like gods, we suddenly lose sight of their humanity, their vulnerability and in fact what makes them so great. If every fighter is making mistakes—it is a case of finding these mistakes and working out which challengers are in the best position to capitalize.

I should hope I don’t have to tell my readers that men who have won UFC belts are not slouches and most (with rare exceptions such as Brock Lesnar) have truly been tested by a wide selection of opponents on their way there. Most have fought at least one good striker, one good wrestler, a dangerous puncher and so on.

Yes, it will take a lot more than “will to win”, “wanting it more” or “scary power” to commit divisional regicide in any of the UFC’s weight classes. This series is as much for my own enjoyment than that of my readers—it is simply fun for me to examine the greatest fighters in the world with a fine tooth comb—but I hope my readers can get some enjoyment out of this too.

 

Being Benson Henderson

With two successful title defenses already in the bag, Benson Henderson is well on the way to being remembered as one of the best in his division’s history. The two things which interest me so much about Henderson are

1) his continued improvement and his carrying a new skill or strategy into almost every fight,

2) his being yet another wrestler who has learned to kick well. This type of fighter is still rare but because of their wrestling pedigree they can open up with kicks like no-one else in MMA can afford to. Cheick Kongo kicks a lot more fluidly and dangerously than Jon Jones (watch his Muay Thai career)—but he is limited to using his mediocre boxing in MMA because he lacks ability in wrestling and jiu jitsu.

Benson Henderson’s great strengths are obvious to anyone who has seen his bouts—he can fight at a frantic pace for five rounds and has brilliant wrestling.

Furthermore he can cause a scramble seemingly whenever he is in trouble on the ground and while he sometimes misses a kick and gives away a bodylock from the back he can often channel the spirit of Kazushi Sakuraba and threaten the standing kimura to get his opponent off of him. 

Henderson is a hard enough puncher to trouble his opponents on the feet but the majority of his success there comes from his movement and snappy kicking prowess. Coming from a Tae Kwon Do background, Henderson seems adept in kicking without the ‘set up step,’ which is prevalent in Muay Thai.

Henderson simply picks his leg up and snaps his shin or foot against his opponent with little in the way of telegraphing. In Henderson’s title-winning effort against Frankie Edgar, though Edgar was able to catch many of Henderson’s kicks, he often ate the power of the kick because he didn’t have the time or the warning to step in the same direction as the kick.

Henderson’s low kicks also serve as a powerful point scorer and have the power to really beat up an opponent’s stance as he did to Frankie Edgar in the opening rounds of their second bout.

As a wrestler AND a good kicker with good movement—Henderson represented a nightmare opponent for Nate Diaz. The Diaz brothers have never had much to offer wrestlers except the chance of a submission, but on the feet was where Henderson surprised many casual fans. 

The Diaz brothers’ lead leg is almost always turned in, exposing the tender back of their lead leg for kicking, which will also buckle their stance and prevent them from countering. Carlos Condit received criticism when he ruthlessly exploited Nick Diaz‘s footwork in this way, but Henderson was able to do the same thing while spicing his performance with hard punches and periods of frantic striking and scrambling on the ground.

Henderson’s best punch is undoubtedly his counter right hand. Far from a banger, Henderson’s successes on the feet have come from drawing an opponent in and catching them with a short right on the snout. This could spell trouble for Gilbert Melendez for reasons I will touch on later this week…

If I could find a fault with this method it is quite simply that Bendo doesn’t have many ways of drawing his opponent on this counter punch. Against Frankie Edgar he continually showed a backhanded jab with no hope of connecting—in order to get Edgar to come back at him.

A few great southpaws have used a slapping, backhanded jab in order to give the opponent a parry and invite a returned jab. That is when they counter. In the case of Naseem Hamed, he would lean back and land a right hook over the opponent’s counter jab. In the case of star of the moment, Guillermo Rigondeaux–a counter left straight as at 2:50 of the video below.

Henderson would simply withdraw his right hand while retreating and land a good jab on Edgar’s snout. Despite being a fighter who is touted as having great head movement, Edgar has shown to have trouble with linear punches against his last two opponents. While he moves constantly—Edgar must always enter on a straight line, and he can often be forced to eat a shot as he does so. 

What flaws can be seen in the obviously well rounded game of Benson Henderson then?

 

Ringcraft

As always the issue of ring craft is an important one. While Henderson often uses footwork to get out of the way of strikes, he does not always show the best awareness of where he is in the cage. Often he will find himself in an exchange near the fence and not have anywhere to retreat. 

Clay Guida was able to drop Henderson in one such exchange, and Frankie Edgar was able to do the same in their second bout. 

No

one exploited the weaknesses in Henderson’s cage placement quite as well as Anthony Pettis, the last man to defeat Henderson. Most folks should know by now that Pettis loves to pressure an opponent towards the fence. 

Not only did Pettis land his magnificent rebounding kick off the cage, but he often uses the cage to take away one direction of movement from an opponent so that he can attempt a spinning back kick or another power strike. Pettis will also attempt to force a shot from the opponent and look to catch them with a hard knee.

Against Henderson, Pettis backed the WEC champion towards the cage, then took a step back and allowed Henderson to attempt to fight his way out from the fence with punches—then countered with strikes of his own.

It is not coincidence that Pettis ends up in position to use his spectacular techniques – he will physically push an opponent towards the cage if he has to (as he did with Donald Cerrone—or use a push kick to get them there, as he did against Henderson.

As with many of the facets I look at in this series—it is hard to tell how Henderson’s ring craft has come along since these issues because it has not really been tested.

Frankie Edgar is a fighter who likes to move around the outside of the octagon anyway, and only in the last two rounds of the rematch moved Henderson to between himself and the cage. Equally, Nate Diaz shares his brother’s poor footwork and struggles to cut off the octagon unless his opponent is wilting from exhaustion.

 

Lack of Set Ups

The second major fault in Henderson’s striking is that he rarely sets up his kicks. While I pointed out his ability to kick straight from his stance is a unique skill and an enviable one, it should be used to bolster an orthodox striking game, rather than replace orthodox set ups and technique.

While Frankie Edgar was forced to eat the power of Henderson’s kicks when Henderson threw them in the first bout, he did catch a great many of Henderson’s kicks to the point where he looked almost telepathic. We all know that the jab is faster than the rear hand, because of the extra distance that the rear hand has to cover—but think how much further even the fastest rear leg kick has to travel. 

In his rematch with Edgar, Henderson focused more intensely on the low kick which is much harder to throw without the set up step. If not set up with punches, the low kick can easily be seen coming and against Guida, Edgar and Diaz, Henderson has ended up turning his back to his opponents off of his missed kicks.

Henderson’s tendency to throw one strike at a time from the outside also plays against him sometimes. While pot-shotting is perfect for fighting Nick Diaz and Frankie Edgar—offensive strikers—Anthony Pettis had his success against Henderson on the counter.

On the few occasions which Henderson threw more than one strike in combination he had great success against Pettis and didn’t offer such large openings for counter strikes.

 

Conclusions

It seems as though the best method for at least out striking Henderson (the field in which I can offer the most insight) seems to be in countering his most common habits. As Henderson almost always engages with kicks, baiting the low kick and withdrawing the leg before dashing in with punches as he misses seems like a method which might work well to carry the fight to Henderson.

With regards to boxing—Henderson has a solid left hand but it is not nearly as dexterous as his right—and it often falls out of position in exchanges (such as when Frankie Edgar hurt him). Circling toward Henderson’s left side would afford the opportunity to counter strike either off of a slow Henderson left straight, or in muffling a left roundhouse kick with the forearms and coming back with a punching combination before Henderson could set his foot down.

If a fighter were able to pressure Henderson in this way without conceding the takedown—drawing kicks and coming back with counter combinations—he could hopefully either hurt Henderson or put him on the run. When Henderson feels himself near the fence is when he is tempted to fight his way out—this is certainly the point at which he seems most vulnerable.

Of course this is all hypothetical and many of these holes may not even exist anymore. Gilbert Melendez might not even try to exploit them.

Hopefully UFC on Fox 7 will offer us further insight—but it should at least provide us with an entertaining title scrap. 

Jack Slack breaks down over 70 striking tactics employed by 20 elite strikers in his first ebookAdvanced Striking, and discusses the fundamentals of strategy in his new ebookElementary Striking.

Jack can be found on TwitterFacebook and at his blog: Fights Gone By.

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Frank Mir: ‘Cormier Is in the Wrong Weight Class and I Have to Help Him Out’

Frank Mir plans on doing a little education at UFC on Fox 7. The former UFC champ plans on educating Daniel Cormier not only in the Octagon, but also by letting Cormier know what weight class he belongs in.Mir spoke to Sherdog about his upcoming fight …

Frank Mir plans on doing a little education at UFC on Fox 7. The former UFC champ plans on educating Daniel Cormier not only in the Octagon, but also by letting Cormier know what weight class he belongs in.

Mir spoke to Sherdog about his upcoming fight with Cormier and, as usual, didn’t show the slightest drop in confidence.

“I think he’s in the wrong weight class,” Mir said. “So far he’s been successful at it, so it’s one of those things that I have to help him out with and show him this isn’t the weight class for him and he can drop to 205.”

Cormier has hinted in the past at dropping to light heavyweight, but he seems perfectly fine with taking out another former UFC champion prior to making any changes in weight. Dropping to light heavyweight has always been a discussion point with fans, as Cormier is routinely the smaller man in the cage.

Yet, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner has managed to use his lack of size to an advantage, focusing on speed and precision.

Cormier will be the smaller man once more as he takes on Mir, who has tipped the scales at 265 pounds in the past and completely changed his physique following the loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100. However, Mir doesn’t believe his weight will be his biggest advantage at UFC on Fox 7.

“Size won’t matter as much as I think reach is more important; my reach is 79 inches,” Mir said.

By comparison, Cormier‘s reach comes in at 71 inches. Along with the four inches of height advantage for Mir, Cormier will certainly look to get inside.

Even though Mir believes size won’t be the be-all and end-all difference in the fight, the former UFC champion does think it will wear Cormier down.

“If he wants to throw me around, he’s going to do that to someone who outweighs him by 40 pounds…Moving around with a guy bigger than you is very fatiguing.”

However, Cormier isn’t just a one-trick pony with his wrestling. We’ve seen his stand-up prove dramatically and he even owns a TKO over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Still, Mir isn’t intimidated by the fight being contested on the feet.

I think his striking looks the way it does because he’s not afraid of being taken down…If he wants to strike, I’ll out-strike him on the feet; I’m not worried about the takedown. I’ve already acknowledged he’s a better wrestler than me. So if he takes me down, I’m a better jiu-jitsu guy, so I’ll just break his arm.

Mir continued with the grappling talk, believing that he has more room for error than his opponent.

“If I make a mistake, he picks me up and slams me; that’s one thing. If he makes a mistake, you know he’s visiting an orthodontist to fix his arm.”

Well, I don’t know if Cormier has any dental issues, but at least Mir gave it his all in the latest round of trash talk between these two.

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MMA’s Great Debate Radio: Gilbert Melendez, Josh Thomson & TUF 17 Finale Debate

MMA’s Great Debate Radio is back, with special guests from this weekend’s UFC on Fox 7 card, Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson, along with the best debate in all of MMA. Gilbert Melendez will look to capture the UFC gold this Saturday when he takes on …

MMA’s Great Debate Radio is back, with special guests from this weekend’s UFC on Fox 7 card, Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson, along with the best debate in all of MMA.

Gilbert Melendez will look to capture the UFC gold this Saturday when he takes on lightweight champion Benson Henderson in the main event.

It’s been a long time coming for Melendez, who just a year ago was stuck in Strikeforce with little chance of ever battling the best of the best in the UFC.  Now Melendez has his chance and he’s out to prove that he belongs with the elite lightweights in the world. 

On today’s show, Melendez will discuss the injuries he has dealt with over the past year, the end of Strikeforce and finally getting his crack at UFC gold.

Also on the show, Josh Thomson stops by to preview his fight against Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 7.

Thomson is targeting a title shot if he can overcome Diaz and on today’s show he’ll explain why he believes he’s the man for the job.  He’ll also talk about the last nearly nine years he spent in Strikeforce and what it was like when that promotion closed its doors earlier this year.

Furthermore, MMA’s Great Debate wouldn’t be anything without all new debate topics today swirling around last weekend’s TUF 17 finale from Las Vegas.

—Did you agree with the stoppage in the Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano fight?

—How do you anticipate the ratings and reception for TUF 18: Rousey vs. Zingano to go?

—Travis Browne knocks out Gabriel Gonzaga—but were the shots he landed legal?

—Did Uriah Hall fall to the pressure or was Kelvin Gastelum just that much better?

—Do you believe Uriah Faber will earn another title shot in the next year?

This is MMA’s Great Debate Radio for Tuesday, April 16, 2013

(If embeddable player does not load, listen to the show directly here or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes)

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