After Mirs win against Kongo and giving his own analysis of the Heavyweight division Carwin responds he would fight Mir. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=dm-mirlesnar121309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Like the lead character in the movie, Mir, who steamrolled Cheick Kongo on Saturday night at UFC 107, seems completely obsessed with getting a shot at the monster who beat, taunted and humiliated him after winning at UFC 100, the biggest show in North American MMA history, on July 11. The moment is hard to forget for anyone who saw it, as Lesnar’s post-fight behavior became the biggest story in sports for a few days. But it’s harder still for Mir, the loser of the match. A week ago, there was very little interest in a third Mir vs. Lesnar fight because of how handily Lesnar beat Mir the last time. But now, provided Mir doesn’t lose and Lesnar can return, the fight would likely do more business than any fight the UFC would put on in 2010. Mir (14-4) may not be the rightful No. 1 contender, but there is no other heavyweight who would garner anywhere near the public interest, as much because of Mir’s verbal talents as his physical ones. In a world where hype overrides substance in drumming up interest, Mir reigns supreme as the UFC’s best talker among fighters. Of course, no matter how well a fighter talks, you still have to win your way to title shots, and Mir did so in impressive fashion Saturday, needing only 1:12 to beat Kongo (24-6-1) at the FedEx Forum. The new Mir, coming in at 264.5 pounds, the heaviest of his career, knocked Kongo down with a looping left hand, the first punch he threw in the fight. On the ground, Mir grabbed a guillotine choke and Kongo eventually passed out, stunning the crowd of 13,896. Most of the fans booed Mir when he came out, largely because of his verbal taunts of Kongo on the countdown show that aired this past week. Mir downgraded Kongo’s striking, saying it wasn’t world class, and said that when it came to wrestling and submissions, Kongo was the worst guy in the heavyweight division. “When you talk as much [expletive] as he did, you’d better back it up,†UFC president Dana White said after the show. Mir made no bones about his desire to fight Lesnar, who is currently battling a case of diverticulitis. “The first thing is, I want him to get healthy,†said Mir. “But when he gets healthy, he may not want to get too healthy.†Right now, there is no target date for when Lesnar will be back in the cage. It will be 4-6 weeks before doctors can determine how well his recovery has gone and whether or not he will need major surgery, which would put him out for several more months. White said if Lesnar needs the surgery, there will be an interim champion. If not, they’ll get a contender ready. Shane Carwin was initially the top contender, though he’s also out of action with a knee injury. The other top contenders, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez, are scheduled to fight on Feb. 21 in Sydney, Australia. Mir felt his performance should put him ahead of Velasquez, generally thought to have the most potential at this point of the four contenders. “When Velasquez beat Kongo, he couldn’t knock him out or submit him in three rounds,†said Mir. “I almost knocked him out and did submit him.†But if Mir could pick his next opponent, it would be Nogueira. “He’s talked a lot of crap about me,†said Mir, who is the only person to have ever finished the legendary Brazilian in his entire career, in a match where Nogueira clearly wasn’t himself coming off a staph infection and a knee injury. “Look, he could say it once, but he says it so often he might as well be wearing a T-shirt that says ‘I had a staph infection and a major knee injury when I fought Frank Mir.’ “But if I was really bothered by it, I’d get back at him by never giving him a rematch, that way I’d always have it over him.†Mir said that if Velasquez wins, he’d have no interest in the Nogueira fight, feeling it wouldn’t at that point benefit his career. As for his other two rivals for a title shot, Velasquez and Carwin, Mir has his own scouting report. “Cain Velasquez, I feel, is the best wrestler in the division,†he said. “And he’s got great cardio. But he’s lacking punching power.†“Shane Carwin, he’s a better Brock Lesnar than Brock Lesnar. He’s just as powerful, if not more powerful. But his defense is his weakness. He got knocked down by Gabriel Gonzaga.†Mir was largely responsible for the late interest in the show with his televised taunts of Kongo, as well as the unveiling of his new physique, built on heavy powerlifting and Olympic lifting movements. Mir felt he simply didn’t have the power to contend with Lesnar in their second meeting, which came about after Mir submitted Lesnar with a kneebar in 90 seconds in Lesnar’s first UFC match. But there were a lot of questions whether adding so much weight so quickly wouldn’t play havoc with his conditioning, since even the smaller Mir had questionable stamina. As it turned out, that question was never answered. “I showed that I could rebound from a bad loss,†Mir said. “I had all the pressure on me. Another loss would have been devastating to my career. I talked so much that it put even more pressure on me. But if you saw me walking to the ring, you could see the pressure didn’t affect me.†Mir’s goal is to get up to around 280 pounds, when his previous best conditioned weight was between 240-252. “I want to get to where I’m cutting 15-20 pounds just to make 265 pounds,†said Mir, regarding his goal for the Lesnar showdown. “That’s going to take some time. But that way I’ll be the same size he is. I may not be quite as strong as he is, but I’ll be strong enough to neutralize his strength, and then it will come down to who is the better technical fighter. He will never be as technical a fighter as I am because he started too late.†http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_y...rwin_would_fight_Mir&prov=mmajunkie&type=lgns With the Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight division in a bit of disarray due to a rash of fighter injuries and champion Brock Lesnar's mysterious but obviously serious illness, one fighter is openly contemplating options for future fights. Shane Carwin, who was next in line for a title shot until Lesnar was sidelined with injuries, initially opted to fight through his own ailment but has since decided to take time off to rehabilitate and to prepare for the birth of a child. When he returns, though, he's open to a fight with fellow contender Frank Mir. Mir, a former champion, convincingly defeated Cheick Kongo this past weekend at UFC 107 and rejoins the thick of the title picture with Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who meet in February at UFC 110. If Lesnar remains sidelined for an extended period of time, would Carwin be open to a bout with Mir? "The answer is easy: yes," Carwin wrote on his official Web site, shane-carwin.com. "I am not a fighter who decides who he fights. I fight who I am told to fight. I like it that way. I am not trying to build a legacy; I am trying to fight the best fighters in the World and determine where I fit in. "Mir is a multiple-time champion who has been counted out more [than] Mike Tyson to only find himself right back at the top. He is a legend of the sport, and I would be honored to fight him." Such a matchup, of course, depends on Lesnar. As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported over the weekend, UFC president Dana White said he will know in about four to six weeks whether the champ will be forced to undergo a "major surgery." If so, the UFC title picture will move on without him, and an interim title will be implemented, White said. Nogueira vs. Velasquez has already been booked as a non-title affair. A possible Carwin vs. Mir matchup is certainly worthy of an interim belt, as would a bout pitting the Nogueira vs. Velasquez winner against the Carwin vs. Mir winner. As for Carwin, he's simply in wait-and-see mode. "I am waiting to see what they have planned for the division and where I fit into the overall plans," he stated. "I am getting better everyday, training hard, and I know my time will come."
I would love to see Mir fight Carwin:cheer: beings Brock isn't available, no reason Mir and Carwin can't fight with the winner fighting the winner of Cain/Nog. Sounds great to me.:cheer:
Brock may be out the entire 2010 calendar year, so they better get moving. THIS is time for an interim championship, unlike the last time.
There's a lot of intriguing matchups to be made at heayweight. Any combination of Mir, Nog, Carwin, Velasquez and Dos Santos is a good matchup. TFK
That indeed sounds like a good plan to me. I would favor Mir over both Carwin and Cain. I don't think either one of them could pull a Lesnar on Mir. Carwin would have a puncher's chance though.
This is what i love about MMA. In a matter of only about a year and a half the UFC heavyweight division has turned into a stacked division.
Says who? I read they are going to wait 4-6 weeks to make that decision. To see if Lesnar need further surgery.
I have never been in favor of interim titles. The two should just be fighting, you don't need to package some fake title to make the fight justified. Give Brock the 4 to 6 weeks, if he can't fight vacate the title. Not rocket science.
REED Loooooooooooves Frank Mir's Brand of ELOQUENT Smacktalk...He's ALWAYS CALM, yet his Comments STING...Could U Imagine Being Cheick Kongo Right Now???...Having Mir BELITTLE you OUTSIDE of the Cage, then EMBARRASS you INSIDE of it... The Thing about Mir is that he's HONEST...Even when it Comes to HIMSELF... REED:hammert:
Mir thinks he is honest about himself, but his opinion of himself is way over inflated. The guy reminds me of the jocks I hated in highschool.
he has improved ten times. He has truly reinvented himself as an elite MMA HW. Its pretty amazing when you think of where he was after the crash. I'm really happy for the guy. He sometimes comes off as the arrogant jock, but he seems very dedicated to his sport and himself now.
I like Mir, but I think he's being looked at as better than he actually he is. He got tooled by Lesnar in the first fight until he caught Lesnar making a rookie mistake. The rematch was a one sided beating. He KO'd Nog, but Nog was nowhere near his best, as his medical issues were well documented. I'd love to see a rematch at some point, and my money would be on Nog. And his win over Kongo is impressive, but Kongo isn't anywhere near being a top heavyweight. A Mir\Carwin fight is still a toss up, as we truly haven't seen Carwin in against an elite heavyweight, but gun to my head I'm picking Carwin. TFK
But U Can NITPICK ANY Guys Wins if U Want...The Fact is, Mir BEAT Brock Lesnar...Made him TAP OUT in Fact...Mir WEATHERED a Miserable Start & Had the Presence of Mind to FIND a Way to Win...That CAN'T B Diminished... & Yeah, he Got his Ass ROASTED in the RE, but Mir NEVER Quit... REED HATES when Guys LOSE then Provide a LAUNDRY LIST of "Injuries" they Had AFTER the Fact...If the Shit was THAT Bad, Nog SHOULDN'T have Gotten in the Cage in the 1st Place...& Yeah, Congo Ain't Much, but Mir Deserves Credit for TREATING Congo like he Wasn't Much, Doesn't He???...Who Else has WHIPPED Congo to that Extreme, That QUICKLY??... REED:dunno:
i Agree with everything you said except Gun to my head Carwin. Gun to my head i go with Mir. Mir then takes on Nog, who he beats again, and then Brock beats Mir again via Rape Choke
Yeah but if Kongo isnt much and Mir treated as such, he wont get too much credit from me. I loved the KO though, but MIR thinks he is better than he actually is. And for being a Blackbelt in BJJ, his ground game at some points is embarrasing.
Every time I try to think of Mir as elite, I have visions of his losses to Brandon Vera and Marcio Cruz. TFK
I really think that fighters are learning from that mistake. You are seeing more and more cancelled fights from injuries/sickness during training recently "Nog included" to avoid avoidable losses.
