UFC 146 – Junior Dos Santos vs. Frank Mir preview
It’s main event time, as MMABay concludes our preview of the five earth-shaking bouts set for the main card of ‘UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir’ which goes down this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. Finally, it’s time for us to get our teeth into the UFC heavyweight title fight, featuring Brazilian knockout artist, Junior dos Santos putting his title on the line against former champ and resident bone-breaker, Frank Mir. Will ‘Cigano’ avenge his master, ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira, and successfully defend his title for the first time? Or will BJJ sensation Mir mangle the limb of another Team Nogueira superstar? Find out after the jump…
Junior Dos Santos (14-1, 8-0 UFC)
When Junior ‘Cigano’ Dos Santos entered the Octagon at UFC 90 in 2008, the outcome seemed set in stone – the newcomer was clearly intended to be a tune-up fight for borderline title contender, Fabricio Werdum. Just over a minute, and an uppercut from hell, later, ‘Cigano’ had announced himself as a heavyweight to be feared.
Considering how low on numbers the heavyweight division has always been, it seems bizarre that Dos Santos was forced to go on a further six-fight win streak before getting his title shot, but the Brazilian kept his mouth closed and did his talking with his fists.
Stunning knockouts of Stefan Struve, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel Gonzaga made ‘Cigano’ a staple of the promotion’s ‘Ultimate Knockouts’ series and the Team Nogueira slugger also decimated top contenders Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin over three rounds, taking comfortable decisions over both.
In November, JDS squared off against champion Cain Velasquez, marking the first UFC main event to ever be broadcast on the FOX network. While many expected a classic, in reality the fight lasted less than two minutes as Dos Santos clubbed the champ to the canvas with a right hand and put the finishing touches to a stunning first round knockout.
‘Cigano’, usually one of the calmer, more relaxed fighters on the roster, is showing signs of anger as he prepares to face the man who recently broke the arm – and the pride – of his master, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Revenge is high on the agenda for the champion this weekend.
Frank Mir (16-5, 14-5 UFC)
It’s amazing to think that Frank Mir has been fighting inside the Octagon for more than eleven years, but in that time the BJJ black-belt has suffered his fair share of injuries – including a career-threatening motorcycle accident in 2004.
The savage submission wizard’s well-documented feud with Brock Lesnar ended in brutal fashion at UFC 100, but since that demoralising beatdown Mir has rarely put a foot wrong on his path back to the title. 4-1 in his past five fights, Mir has only tasted defeat via the concrete heavy hands of Shane Carwin at UFC 111 and has won his last three.
Mir lumbered through three rounds at UFC 119 before knocking out Mirko Cro Cop in the final minute, but the veteran responded to his critics by truly manhandling Roy Nelson at UFC 130. Mir frequently tossed Nelson around the cage and controlled the heavier man to take a lopsided unanimous decision.
But it was the sensational rematch with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, at UFC 140 in December, that reminded us all just how lethal Frank Mir can be – even when he seems to be in deep trouble himself. Mir was badly wobbled by punches from the Brazilian in Toronto and when Nogueira attempted to sink in a choke on the dazed grappler, it seemed to be done and dusted.
Not so, as Mir incredibly managed to survive and reverse the position, ending up in side-control where he ruthlessly snapped the arm of the BJJ guru with a vicious kimura, prompting the referee to intervene as Nogueira was finally forced to tap, his pride destroyed. Perhaps the most successful ‘heel’ in the business, Mir would solidify that status and more by not only defeating Nogueira’s apprentice but winning back the title in the process.
The Verdict: Mir is quick to point out that his record against pure strikers is exemplary. While that is not entirely false, Mir has struggled badly with heavy-handed opponents in the past, many of whom have lacked the speed and accuracy of Dos Santos.
‘Cigano’ may not be the most unpredictable of bangers – he relies mainly on the same tried and tested combinations, often ending in his barbaric uppercuts – but why fix what isn’t broken? The Brazilian has been untouchable standing thus far in the UFC, and Mir – while improving in the striking department and having power – is not the man to test him there.
The big question, as has been the case in every Dos Santos fight to date, is his ground game. Is he as capable a grappler as we’re led to believe? Even if he is, it’s hard to imagine he’s better than Nogueira, and we all saw what happened when Mir got side-control on him.
But even getting Dos Santos to the ground has proven a thankless task. After seeing Mir tear off Nogueira’s arm, this writer promised to never write the man off again – make no mistake, Mir only needs one second to end this fight. Sadly, so does JDS, and we’re going to see ‘Cigano’ avenge his master with a thunderous first round knockout. Dos Santos, (T)KO, 1st round.
By Steve Davies.
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