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Frank Mir, one of the most experience heavyweights on the UFC’s roster, will be fighting for the 20th time inside of the Octagon tonight. He’s one of the most durable, versatile, and tested fighters to be apart of the organization. Coming into this fight against the dangerous, hyped-up up-n’-comer, he will be putting a lot on the line. Mir has been able to rise the occasion before in his career, will he be able to do it again? To prove it to himself, the UFC, and to the fans.

Mir has always been regarded as a ground specialist throughout his career, but after he broke Minotauro Nogueira’s arm, it would’ve be unreasonable to label him as the best grappler at heavyweight. Ontop of that, he’s shown uncanny ability on the feet; he knocked out the great striker Mirko Cro Cop on the feet, dropped and finished Minotauro Nogueira, and dropped Cheick Kongo to then finish him with a guillotine choke. Mir has always been able to shock fans and pull off unexpected wins, but has this ability been diminished? His last outing, a title challenge against Junior dos Santos, didn’t seem to show Mir at his best. He was finished in the second round by the better striker and forced into a one-year hiatus after an injury sidelined him from a potential match-up against Daniel Cormier. Now, with this bout back on track, Frank Mir has a chance to derail the train of Cormier and prove once again why Frank Mir should never be counted out.

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However, there is more to it than just that. Throughout Frank Mir’s career, he has always struggled against fighters who could out-muscle him, and hit extremely hard. This is exactly what Cormier is about; he’s a big, thickly muscled Olympic wrestler who’s punching power has seemed unmatched. Mir has fought similar opponents in Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, and those bouts did not go too well for him. In the first outing against Lesnar, Mir was dropped and looked to be about finished. However, when Lesnar made a small mistake ontop how pounding Mir’s head into oblivion, Mir latched onto a leg and won by submission. This exact scenario could very well happen tonight against Daniel Cormier. But can Mir do it to a more experienced, technical, and skilled fighter in Daniel Cormier? This will be the big question coming into this fight.

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His career needs this win as he has never dropped two-straight. He’s already suffered his fair share of injuries, including a badly broken leg during a motorcycle crash back in 2004, and two-straight losses could surely zap Mir’s motivation to fight. Ontop of that, he’s fighting for the UFC. Coming in against a huge body of potential in Daniel Cormier, he’s representing the UFC against an extremely dangerous Strikeforce fighter. Also, this fight is for himself. He’s struggled against these type of fighters, and if he could pull off a win, he’d prove to himself that he still has what it takes.

Thanks for reading! Have a nice day!
-Hodgi