10 Legendary MMA Fighters You've Probably Never Heard Of

Tag: Frank Mir

“ReX vs. Danga” – UFC 140 Edition


(The CagePotato HR Department: Boldly squashing inter-office disputes since 2007.) 

Just like pictures of hot womens and irresponsible opinions, pre-UFC event bickering has become a fixture here at CagePotato. In advance of this weekend’s card in Toronto, we locked Danga and ReX in a miniature Octagon with energy drinks, a blow-up doll, and a set of questions. We were dubious about the doll, but ReX insisted that hilarity would ensue, and he assures us that it did. It wasn’t mentioned in the final article, but some things you just don’t want to ask about.

Come on in past the jump and witness the confusion of two men discussing MMA while being distracted by said hot womens, touching on the subjects of likability, MMA Math, and the potential importance of fashion choices.

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UFC 140 Fight-Picking Contest: Win a Copy of ‘The Grappler’s Manifesto’!

Our good buddies at Victory Belt are about to release The Grappler’s Manifesto: The Guide to Strangling, Torquing, & Bludgeoning Your Way to Victory in The Cage [Ed. note: My God this title], in which some of the world’s greatest grappling instructors and MMA fighters — including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Greg Jackson, Dave Camarillo, Randy Couture, and Neil Melanson — share their secrets for winning fights on the ground. Compiled by writer/trainer Lance Freimuth, the 272-page tome is packed with never-before-published techniques, and we’d like to give a copy to a lucky CagePotato reader in a test of fight-picking expertise.

This Saturday at UFC 140, Jon Jones will attempt to make his second light-heavyweight title defense against ex-champ Lyoto Machida. Plus, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira rematch in the heavyweight division, and Tito Ortiz returns to action against Big Nog’s slightly-smaller twin. Submit your predictions for these three fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

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Gambling Addiction Enabler: UFC 140 Edition

Last week, we let none other than The Great Potato step in and give you guys some gambling advice for the TUF 14 Finale. He went spuds out, gambling his son Tater’s future college fund on a parlay that included Jason Miller and T.J. Dillashaw. He has since gone into hiding and refused to answer any of our calls. Now that UFC 140 is on the horizon, we bring you some saweet betting lines, courtesy of BestFightOdds, along with our advice, in order to ensure his children receive the education they deserve.

Main Card
Jon Jones (-440) vs. Lyoto Machida (+350)
Frank Mir (-250) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria (+210)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueria (-225) vs. Tito Ortiz (+175)
Brian Ebersole (-125) vs. Claude Patrick (-105)
Mark Hominick (-380) vs. Chan Sung Jung (+290)

The Main Event: The fact that Lyoto Machida is listed with a slightly better chance to beat Jones than Rampage Jackson, a.k.a the last person to beat Machida, is intriguing to say the least. We all know Lyoto has stepped up his training camp for this bout, and packed on an incredible 21 pounds of muscle to try and deal with the size and strength of Jones, but will this weight gain hinder the Dragon’s renowned elusiveness? And despite Jones’ near immortal stature among the UFC’s light heavyweight division, there is still one huge facet of his game that has yet to be tested, his chin.

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‘UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida’ Extended Video Trailer


(Props: mmapain)

Once in a while, a singular talent will arise and utterly dominate this sport. He comes out of nowhere, immediately starts whipping top-ranked fighters with years’ more experience, and leaves both fans and his opponents in awe of his abilities. Jon Jones is that guy right now. And nobody knows how fleeting that moment is better than Lyoto Machida, whose invincible aura (and “era“) went up in smoke as quickly as it arrived.

That’s what gives Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida such a great storyline for their meeting on December 10th in Toronto. Besides Machida’s unorthodox style, which could be an effective counter to Bones’s own funky attacks, the Dragon stands as a living reminder that nobody is invincible — seriously, not even Jon Jones — and defeat is simply a matter of running into the wrong guy on the wrong night.

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UFC Heavyweight Title Curse Strikes Sixth Victim in Three Years; Dos Santos Sidelined With Torn Meniscus


(The only less popular piece of gold in MMA is Kimbo’s licensed signature fist necklace.)

Considering that every one of the six men who has worn it since this day three years ago has fallen to illness or injury, the UFC heavyweight belt could soon become the least desired trophy in sports.

The latest victim of the ill-fated gilded strap is Junior dos Santos, who went into his UFC on Fox heavyweight title bout with Cain Velasquez with a torn meniscus which will probably require surgery and an extended recovery time, making his first title defense unlikely until the second half of 2012. Somebody needs to bring the belt to a priest and have him perform an exorcism on it. Otherwise, we may only see one heavyweight title bout per year.

Check out the breakdown of the unlucky timeline of the cursed hunk of leather and gold after the jump.

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Your Daily Dose of Awesome: FoGriff and Friends Get Mauled at the K-9 Trials


(Free shirt goes to whoever can pick out Dan Hardy.) 

This past weekend, the 21st annual K-9 Trials went down. What are the K-9 Trials you ask? Well, they are like the Westminster Dog Show, only points are awarded on each dog’s ability to tear you limb from limb. This year, UFC fighters Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Dan Hardy, and Frank Mir got in on the action, because when presented the opportunity to be mauled by a dog, who wouldn’t jump?

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Roy Nelson Calls on Frank Mir/Zeus’ Beard to Prepare for Cro Cop, Continues to Live Large


(Sorry Roy, casting for Tucker and Dale vs. Evil 2 is down the street.)

Leading into his UFC 137 bout with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, former IFL heavyweight champ Roy “Big Country” Nelson has enlisted the help of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir to prepare him for the Croatian legend. Mir, who defeated Nelson by unanimous decision at UFC 130 back in May, also holds a knockout victory over Cro Cop from their headlining bout at UFC 119. Nelson explained his decision to bring in Mir during a recent interview with NBC Sports:

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Hallman vs. Makdessi Penciled in for UFC 140 in Toronto

Well it looks like Dennis Hallman’s wardrobe malfunction at UFC 133 won’t cost him his job with the UFC.

“Superman” Tweeted last night that he will be dropping back down to lightweight for the first time in 10 years to take on undefeated Canadian prospect John Makdessi at UFC 140 in December in Toronto.

A true moneyweight fighter, Hallman who is 50-12-1 (1 NC) in 64 professional fights as a light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight and lightweight, defeated Matt Hughes at 155 at UFC 23, earning him a shot at then-lightweight champ Jens Pulver at UFC 33, but fell short, losing to “Lil’ Evil” by unanimous decision. That was his last fight at 155.

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Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Rematch Booked for UFC 140 in Toronto

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Frank Mir UFC
(Like two little Fonzies. Photo via CombatLifestyle)

Coming off his redemptive knockout of Brendan Schaub at UFC 134, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira‘s next fight will give him a chance to settle an old score. The UFC announced yesterday that Big Nog will rematch Frank Mir at UFC 140, December 10th in Toronto.

The two heavyweights first met at UFC 92 in December 2008 following a shared stint on TUF 8. Despite coming in as a 3-1 underdog, Mir shocked fans by outstriking Nogueira en route to a second-round TKO. Then, Nogueira pee-peed on Mir’s parade by revealing that he was fighting with a staph infection and injured knee, which didn’t exactly sit well with Mir. Nogueira has wanted a rematch ever since, and re-called-out Mir following his big win last month.

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Dana White to Announce Main Event For Fox Debut During Friday Afternoon Media Conference Call, Possibly Featuring Overeem

The UFC announced today that it will be holding an impromptu media conference call tomorrow at 1:00 pm ET, during which Dana White is expected to make a “major announcement.” It didn’t take long for the UFC president to reveal via his favorite communication channel, Twitter, that the announcement will be the two main event combatants in the promotion’s inaugural show on Fox which will also feature a featherweight scrap between Dustin Poirier and Pablo Garza.

Some are hypothesizing that former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who was dropped by the promotion last month for what Zuffa termed as “an issue with his management team” Golden Glory, will make up half of the bout and that his opponent will either be Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin or Frank Mir.

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MMA’s Former King of Trash Talk Tito Ortiz Rates the Sport’s New Guard of Mouthpieces


(You know you’ve been an ass when Captain America spanks you – Vid courtesy of YouTube/zansinigoj)

Back in the day, Tito Ortiz had the uncanny ability to piss off even the most level-headed opponents, but since he dropped off in the rankings, nobody has been paying his mouth much attention the past few years. As such, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” announced last week during a UFC 133 conference call that he’s done with smack talk and that he’s instead going to put all of his energy into training.

We’ll believe it when we see it, but in the meantime, check out what Tito had to say about the new breed of trash talkers in the sport after the jump.

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MMA’s Five Greatest Career Comebacks — And Their Legendary Sports Equivalents

Tito Ortiz UFC 132 photos Ryan Bader victory celebration
(A wise man once said, ‘Success is the best revenge.’ A slightly less-wise man once said, ‘All y’all haters can blow me.’ / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)

When Tito Ortiz choked out Ryan Bader at UFC 132 — breaking a four-and-a-half year winless streak in an upset that absolutely nobody saw coming — he immediately became MMA’s comeback story of the year. And if Ortiz can defeat old rival Rashad Evans at UFC 133 on August 6th, he’ll have earned a place among the greatest MMA comebacks of all time.

In honor of the Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s return to legit contendership, we decided to look at MMA’s classic career comebacks, and the non-MMA sports comebacks that we most closely associate them with. Check out the list below, and ask yourself one question: If Tito can leave the Octagon with a victory next Saturday, would he deserve the #1 spot?

FRANK MIR

Rise and fall: The brash submission specialist earned a heavyweight title shot at UFC 48 in June 2004, against 16-0 champion Tim Sylvia. Mir famously snapped Sylvia’s forearm with an armbar and went home with the belt. Three months later, Mir was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle. The accident broke his femur, tore up his knee, and nearly cost him a toe as well. His return to competition a year-and-a-half later was a minor miracle in itself, but the “comeback” saw him get smashed by Marcio Cruz, followed by a lackluster win over Dan Christison, followed by another smashing at the hands of Brandon Vera.

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Odd Men Out: Five UFC Stars With Uncertain Futures

They had all the momentum in the world — and then it fell apart. Whether it was due to poorly-timed losses, fan-unfriendly fighting styles, or both, these UFC fighters have reached a holding pattern in their careers, and will need a few dramatic performances to break out of it…

Demian Maia

After kicking his UFC career off with five-straight submission victories, Demian Maia began drawing comparisons to Royce Gracie Himself. A 21-second knockout loss at the hands of Nate Marquardt put the reins on his hype, and a bland stretch of five consecutive decisions — including his debacle of a loss to Anderson Silva and his most recent defeat by Mark Munoz — snuffed that hype out for good. It’s not just that Maia’s been relegated to the middle of the pack. With all the heat generated by outspoken middleweight contenders like Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Michael Bisping, and now Jason Miller, Maia is barely a blip on the radar these days.

Miguel Torres

(Photo props: Ed Mulholland)
From 2004-2009, Torres racked up 17 straight wins (15 by stoppage), won the WEC’s bantamweight title and defended it three times in breathtaking fashion. Not only was he one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport, he was also one of the most consistently entertaining. Back-to-back stoppage losses to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez changed all that. Torres re-located his training camp to Tristar gym in Montreal and re-emerged as a more cautious, measured fighter who jabbed a lot. It was the right choice for his fight record, as he won his next two matches against Charlie Valencia and Antonio Banuelos, but it was clear that we weren’t watching the same mulleted buzzsaw that we knew and loved. Then, at UFC 130, he got outwrestled by undersized up-and-comer Demetrious Johnson. No more win streak, no more fan-favorite cred — Torres is back at square one.

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On This Day in MMA History…June 19


(Back when Ken was making more than GSP…)

The TUF 11 Finale went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Five of the fighters from the show are still active in the UFC and four are undefeated in the Octagon.

TUF winner Court McGee, who defeated Kris McCray in the finale by rear naked choke also beat Ryan Jensen by arm triangle at UFC 121 in October. He’s set to face Don Yi Yang at UFN “Battle at the Bayou” in September.

Kyle Noke, who was beaten by teammate McCray by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the show, defeated Josh Bryant by TKO at the finale and rattled off two rear naked choke submission wins against Rob Kimmons at UFC 122 in November and TUF 11 cast mate Chris Camozzi at UFC 127 at home in Australia in February. He’ll face Tom Lawlor next at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle in August.

Brad Tavares, who lost to McGee in the semi-finals by rear naked choke is undefeated in official competition as well as 2-0 in the Octagon.He defeated TUF 11 quarterfinal opponent Seth Baczynski at the finale by unanimous decision and Phil Baroni by knockout at UFC 125 in January.

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UFC 130 Excuse-Watch: Roy Nelson Had ‘Walking Pneumonia’

Frank Mir Roy Nelson UFC 130 fat MMA photos
(We would have also accepted ‘extreme-constipation’. Photo courtesy of HeavyMMA.)

Breaking away from his usual “fat guy who can throw down” persona, Roy Nelson just looked like your garden-variety fat guy last weekend at UFC 130, wheezing through three rounds, too exhausted to do anything besides absorb blows from Frank Mir. Was it a sign that Roy should finally hook up with a nutritionist and get his BMI in order?

The obvious answer is yes, definitely. Just because you can drag around a barrel of adipose tissue around your midsection and still compete at the highest levels of MMA doesn’t make it a good idea. Nelson is literally weighing himself down in the Octagon, and putting himself at a profound competitive disadvantage; even most 205-pounders in the UFC outsize Nelson at this point. But according to a new report, there was another factor in play on Saturday that made a victory for Big Country even less likely:

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UFC 130 Salary List: ‘Rampage’ and Mir Lead the Pack With $250k Checks

Gleison Tibau Rafaello Oliveira UFC 130
(Rear-naked chokes exist in a surplus in some markets, causing their value to be diluted, but their rarity at UFC 130 inflated their value to $70,000 apiece. See, I told you economics could be fun! Photo courtesy of Heavy.com.)

The UFC paid out $1,211,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters at UFC 130, according to new figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The highest paid fighters were headliner Quinton Jackson — whose salary was a flat $250,000 — and Frank Mir, who doubled his $125,000 to-show pay by defeating Roy Nelson. Three other fighters were able to crack the six-figure mark thanks to their $70,000 performance bonuses. The full UFC 130 payout list is below; keep in mind that the figures don’t include deductions for taxes, insurance, and license fees, or additional revenue from sponsorships and undisclosed discretionary bonuses.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: $250,000 (no win bonus)
def. Matt Hamill: $32,000

Frank Mir: $250,000 (includes $125,000 win bonus)
def. Roy Nelson: $15,000

Travis Browne: $86,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus, $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
def. Stefan Struve: $21,000

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Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 130 Edition

Roy Nelson Frank Mir
(Meanwhile in Roy’s stomach, a dozen undigested cheeseburgers cried for mercy. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Look, I was all for sweeping UFC 130 under the rug and never mentioning it again, but since ReX has shamed me into doing this, it’s time to look back at Saturday’s big winners (and big, big losers) and see if we can devise some future matchups for these guys that will actually produce interesting fights. Make it happen, tiny atheist.

Quinton Jackson: Dana White seems dead-set on giving Rampage a title shot if his hand is healthy enough to accept it. Ugh, terrible. Why the UFC isn’t interested in promoting the hottest rivalry in the sport is anybody’s guess. (And don’t give me that bullshit about “timing”; it’s more likely related to White’s personal feelings about Rashad Evans.) In a perfect world, Rampage sits out for a few months and faces the winner of Shogun vs. Forrest at UFC 134 in Rio. With losses to both on his record, I don’t think motivation would be an issue.

Matt Hamill: Sure, on paper Hamill was coming into the fight against Rampage with a five-fight win streak — but considering that the most impressive victory in that streak (by far!) was his knockout of Mark Munoz, you have to wonder where the Hammer really sits in the light-heavyweight pecking order. My first thought was that Hamill should face the resurgent Vladimir Matyushenko next — but Vlad already has a date in August. So give him the winner of Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado at this Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale. Either Hamill rebounds, or a rising prospect gets a big-name notch on their belt. Seems win-win to me.

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UFC 130 Aftermath: Worst Audition Ever


(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.

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UFC 130 Liveblog


(Man, Edith LaBelle has really let herself go.)

After sorting out some technical difficulties with my satellite company, I am set up to get this b*tch blogged for y’all.

Let’s get to it.

Spoilers are after the jump. You’ve been warned, yo.

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Reminder: Watch the UFC 130 Weigh-Ins Live Right Here at 7:00 pm ET


(Come back at 7:00 and see what these two guy look like in their underwear.)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be streaming the UFC 130 weigh-ins live here at 7:00 pm ET.

Will Roy Nelson have a six-pack or a keg?

Will Thiago Alves make weight thanks again to Mike Dolce?

Will Frank Mir come out wearing Whopper boxers?

These pressing questions and more will be answered after the jump.

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Dana White’s UFC 130 Video Blog #2


(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

In this episode of his UFC 130 vlog, Dana  spends some time with his son, attends the UFC Fighter Summit and gears up for this weekend’s event.

If you don’t have time to watch it or your boss is a tight ass who banned YouTube in your workplace, the key points in a nutshell are after the jump.

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Reminder: Watch the UFC 130 Pre-Fight Press Conference Live Right Here Starting at 4:00 pm ET

(“Okay everybody, act like your medical benefits were just revoked.”)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be streaming the UFC 130 press conference from Las Vegas today starting at 4:00 m ET.

Will Rampage tell Hammill he has a soft head? Will Hammil try to get Rampage to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Will Nelson bring Mir a Whopper? Will Mir rub Nelson’t belly for good luck?

These questions and more will be answered after the jump.

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Brock Lesnar’s Book Sounds Like It Might Actually Be Interesting

(“The fact you would even bring Barthelme into this discussion tells me everything I need to know about your view of so-called postmodern literature, Mir. Seriously, grad school is over, man.”)

We’re still 10 days out from the scheduled release of Brock Lesnar’s autobiography and – if you’re like us – it’s getting hard to wait, since you already expunged your spring reading list by powering through “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and “The Emperor of All Maladies” over the weekend. What can you say? You are a fucking voracious reader. Luckily for you, the fine folks at literary giant Harper Collins have served up a fairly lengthy excerpt from the former UFC heavyweight champion’s upcoming opus “Death Clutch” to keep you sated until the actual publication date.

Some of the middle-aged ladies who work at HC have even been tweeting links to the outtakes from Lesnar’s book – something we bet they never thought they’d be doing when they got into publishing – and so we checked it out. Oddly, we were sort of delighted with what we found. Firstly, it turns out that Lesnar finds a way to dis Frank Mir in the book’s very first paragraph. We read that and started thinking, ‘OK Brock, you have our attention.’ Look for Mir to fire back in his upcoming memoir “Confessions of a Strip Club Bouncer.” After the jump however, Lesnar gets the first word …

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After 5 Hours at the Dentist, Randy Couture is A-OK Following Career-Ending KO

(YouTube/MMA30tv)

Any time you watch a 47-year-old man get kicked in the face by a levitating karate master – man, if we only had a nickel for every time that happens, right? – you have to wonder how the elder statesman is going to bounce back from it. In the case of Randy Couture, he appears to be recovering nicely. Aside from a small bruise under his eye, the newly retired “Natural” seems in great spirits when he meets up with MMA30’s Dave Fara at a gala event for the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation, which seeks to raise money for wounded vets. Couture also looks fully in control of his faculties, as evidenced when he correctly uses the word “assimilate” in casual conversation.

The teeth however, were more of a problem. In the above vid, listen to Couture discuss the five-plus hours he spent at the dentist getting his pearly-white Hollywood-level choppers realigned. All that, and he even has to go back for more. Nonetheless, The Old Man is taking it in stride, relating to Fara that Lyoto Machida put in a personal phone call to him a couple of days after the fight to make sure he was OK. Couture laughs off the Steven Seagal angle, keeps right on using the word “cat” as much as possible (which is only slightly less annoying than when guys in MMA insist on calling everyone “kid”) and even comments on rumors he personally took out Osama bin Laden. “It was a long plane ride,” says Couture. So you know, (if you’ll excuse the phrase) business as usual. Now if we could just do something about the epaulets on his dress blazer …

The rest of Couture’s quotes are after the jump, followed by a bevy of other Las Vegas-based fighters making appearances to pay homage to the 14-year vet. And damn, check out the jacket on Ray Sefo at 4:15. Looking good.

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‘UFC 130: Edgar vs. Maynard III’ Video Trailer


(Props: UFC)

The UFC’s next big event goes down May 28th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, featuring the third meeting between champion Frankie Edgar and arch-rival Gray Maynard, as well as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Hamill and Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson. The UFC 130 lineup also includes Miguel Torres, Thiago Alves, Stefan Struve, and the return of Jorge Santiago. Start getting psyched now, because there ain’t a hell of a lot going on until then…

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Frank Mir Doesn’t Think Overeem Will Fare Well in the Octagon

(“This guy knows how to eat.”)

Frank Mir thinks Alistair Overeem will suffer a similar fate as Mirko Cro Cop if and when he finally fights for the UFC.

Either Mir doesn’t know anything about Overeem or he’s trying to needle his way into a fight with the heavyweight Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 champion  when he transitions to the Octagon. Whatever his intentions are, it’s likely the only thing Mir will succeed in doing is pissing off “The Reem.”

Here’s what he had to say in a recent interview he did with MMA30′s Dave Farra:

“With all the guys with the wrestling ability I dont think Overeem will do as well as a lot of the fans would like him to do. Obviously the guy’s from from K-1 and I can’t say enough about his stand-up. He’s a great fighter and he has a pretty wicked guillotine — at least he did at light heavyweight he [did],” mir explained. “I haven’t really seen him establish it since he put the weight on. He has some submissions off his back and he moves around, but he’s been fighting in boxing rings and stuff, but going to fight in the cage, which he’s he’s had fights in cages, but you get someone like a Velasquez or Carwin or Brock, they’re going to change levels and push you against a cage and rip you down. So I think Overeem is going to have to deal with the cage now. When youre a striker, it’s an issue.”

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What If the UFC Held a Heavyweight Tournament?


(Somehow we see this tournament going down before Strikeforce’s HW GP.)

With the current buzz surrounding the recently announced Strikeforce 2011 heavyweight grand prix, we figured we’d take a look at what kind of tournament the UFC could put on if they were so inclined.

Contrary to popular opinion, the calibre of the UFC’s HW GP would be just as good, if not better than Strikeforce’s. The only noticeable difference is that there really wouldn’t be any mismatches in Zuffa’s heavyweightpalooza.

Even if Joe Silva decided not to put the matches together that we hypothesized in order to save some of the more anticipated pairings for the sem-final and final rounds, shuffling the card around would not cause a great disparity in the calibre of opponents.

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Struve Subbed for Mir Versus Schaub, Further Fuelling Speculation That Frank and Brock Are Next Season’s TUF Coaches


(Winner gets Hammer’s gold pants.)

It looks like the rumors that Frank Mir will coach opposite Brock Lesnar on next season of The Ultimate Fighter gained some momentum today with news that the planned bout between Mir and heavyweight prospect Brendan Schaub has been scrapped.

According to Sportsnet’s Joe Ferraro, sources indicated today that Schaub will likely face fellow Alchemist Management repped fighter Stefan Struve on the UFC’s third "Live on Versus" card on March 3 which will feature a main event welterweight tilt between Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez. The change in opponents without any mention by Mir of an injury coupled with his re-tweet of the message below, proclaiming the two former UFC heavyweight champions as opposing coaches does little to disprove the assumption.

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Suddenly Disinterested in Third Lesnar Fight, Frank Mir Suspiciously Complementary of Brendan Schaub


(A fella could get used to this. PicProps: MMAFix.com)

Don’t know about you, but a world where Frank Mir no longer harbors troubling fantasies about murdering Brock Lesnar inside the cage is a world I’m not terribly psyched about. Like death, taxes and Phil Baroni constantly tweeting inspirational sayings (Seriously. Fucking constantly.) I thought Mir’s unhealthy and unquenchable blood feud with Lesnar was one of the only things I could really count on about our nation’s increasingly unstable future. Not so apparently, as Mir allegedly tells something called MMASucka.com this week that he no longer lusts after a fight with the recently dethroned Dark Lord.

"Honestly right now, probably (not),” Mir is quoted as saying on the topic of a third meeting with Lesnar. “Just because (in) the Carwin fight, (Lesnar) didn’t look all that spectacular. I think a lot of people might have thought that he lost that fight. And then the Velasquez fight, obviously. Velasquez made (Lesnar) basically shout ‘Stop, enough, enough!’ before he tapped due to strikes and that looked really bad."

Huh. Not sure where exactly Mir gets off suddenly turning his nose up at a guy because he didn’t look great in his most recent loss and/or most recent win. Seems like a classic throwing-stones-while-living-in-glass-houses situation. Anyway, Mir has apparently set his sights on what he considers a more deserving next opponent. Someone a little less, you know, big and dangerous …

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Shane Carwin Bows Out of UFC 125 Bout With Roy Nelson Due to Nagging Back Injury


(Carwin in less painful times, leading the crowd in a spirited rendition of "YMCA.")

UFC heavyweight contender Shane Carwin announced today via his website that he will be puling out of his planned UFC 125 bout on January 1 against Roy Nelson to rehab a nagging back injury that could require surgery.

Here’s what Carwin had to say about the situation:

"I am going to pull out of the fight with Roy Nelson. As many of you know I have been having some back pain. I had an MRI yesterday and I have some damage that may really require surgery. If the doctors do not have to perform surgery then I will be out 8-12 weeks. If they do have to perform surgery I do not know how long I will be out of action.
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