UFC 100: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
In what many are calling the biggest fight in UFC history, Frank Mir (12-3) and Brock Lesnar (3-1) face off in the headline event of UFC 100 on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Mir, who submitted Lesnar with a knee bar in their last fight in February 2008, says if he was Lesnar, he would bull rush at the first bell.
“I would just come after me — take a chance, ’cause to sit there and play the cat-and-mouse game with me, and jab and slip and move around, I think that’s a slow death for him that he can’t possibly win,” said Mir, the interim UFC heavyweight champ but +175 WagerWeb.com underdog.
Lesnar’s strength is his most visible asset. He’s far and away the most powerful man in mixed martial arts and one of the biggest. The 2000 NCAA wrestling champion is as quick as some of MMA’s top light heavyweights. He can pummel an opponent or just dominate him on the canvas.
But Lesnar, who is the -250 WagerWeb.com favorite, made a rookie mistake against Mir in his first UFC bout. Lesnar got anxious and recklessly went for the finish. Mir made him pay for that mistake, forcing him to tap out. No wonder Mir wants Lesnar to bull rush this time.
UFC president Dana White believes Lesnar will treat the more experienced Mir as he did veteran ex-champion Randy Couture, who was pummeled by 37 head shots from Lesnar on the mat before stoppage in November.
Mir will weigh 255 pounds come fight night, but could be outweighed by 30 pounds when they enter the octagon. Mir showed his striking ability in his December bout with Rodrigo Nogueira, becoming the first person to stop the Brazilian before the end of a fight.
The win gave Mir an interim title and a shot at the full title he held in 2004, before a motorcycle accident set back his career.
Mir believes he’s gotten into Lesnar’s head, not only because he submitted him at UFC 81 but also with his near nonstop chatter. He said he would use moves to defeat Lesnar that Lesnar could not even understand.
“I’ll tell you what those moves were at the end of the fight, Brock,” Mir said.
Look for Lesnar to pull this one out. After all, in the first fight Lesnar took Mir down within seconds and was battering him with hammer fists, at one point connecting with nearly 40. But Mir never panicked and was able to rally. We’ll see if Lesnar learned anything from that.
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