Can Frank Mir Do It Again?

This one is really hard to call. Lesnar has mad potential but right now I think Mir is the better all-around fighter, has much more experience, and has been through much more adversity. Also, this may be nitpicky, but Randy was doing a very good job against Brock before he got knocked out. Yes, Brock won the fight and he deserves credit for it but he did not like being popped in the face AT ALL. Randy was bringing it and some people have found it convenient to forget that. I think Mir should come out aggressive like he did against Nogueira and like Randy did against Brock. And it’s funny because people are acting like Brock won the first fight. Controversy or not, Brock tapped. It should still be a very interesting fight.

Can you imagine Brock putting you in a rear naked choke…. You would disappear and if he squeezes hard your head will probably just pop off.

People like Fly who constantly support Brock Lesnar, saying things like how “legit” he is need to come clean that they’re WWE fans and admit that they’re secretly thrilled that the same guy who was F5ing people like the Rock is now a UFC champion.

“Nuh-uh, he’s legit man. NCAA heavyweight champ, great athlete, ton of potential- when he’s more experienced will be better than Fedor…”

No dude, he’s a very good wrestler, a huge man and an outstanding athlete – that is what has propelled him to where he is now. Of course he is learning to be proficient in other disciplines but is unlikely to ever have great standup or beautiful submissions; he’s a beast with a smothering top game and massive power, and that’s fucking hard to deal with – particularly in the HW’s where the weight class covers such a wide weight range.

And don’t overstate his accomplishments. He beat Heath Herring, a guy who was beaten soundly by Jake O’Brien who also took him down for three rounds and ground and pounded him – only Jake is about 45 pounds lighter and a less accomplished wrestler on paper. He then beat Randy, and while Randy is a great fighter who used his technical skills pretty well in that fight (like pressing Brock against the fence, neutralising a lot of his power, and getting up from a takedown without taking damage) he was unable to find his range standing and ended up getting knocked out by an arguably lucky punch. In any event, Brock could have been in the WWE without any MMA experience and it still would have been a difficult fight for Randy fighting the much larger, stronger wrestler.

“Whatever dude, you can hate him but he’s gonna be unbeatable when he learns Jiu Jitsu and standup”.

Nope. He’s going to be a tough opponent – that’s clear. For fuck sake, Mark Coleman who is 44, miles past his best, and has no cardio, had a very legitimate chance at beating Shogun in their most recent fight. It doesn’t matter that Shogun was out of shape; it was clear that a fighter who has elite wrestling and is savvy about submissions is going to be tough because they’re going to control where the fight goes, but that is it. Brock has phenomenal physical gifts, but take his nuts out of your mouth and get off the hype train; Randleman was certainly no less the athlete but clearly he wasn’t unbeatable.

Brock will probably beat Mir this time. He controls where the fight goes, will almost certainly gain top position, and can stay in Frank’s guard and brutalise Mir with ground and pound. People who assume Frank will catch him don’t realise how difficult that is going to be from a practical perspective. Further down the line, if Brock faces strikers who aren’t accomplished wrestlers in their own right he’s going to take them down and ground and pound them. But don’t act like it’s more than it is. Brock is just proof that particularly at heavyweight, where most people can’t match his size, let alone his athleticism, a big wrestler, who has power and is a great athlete, only needs passable skills in BJJ and striking in order to be a dominant fighter.

Can Mir do it again?

Absolutely.

Do I think that is the most likely scenario?

No.

I think Lesnar’s size, power, athleticism & increase in experience since their first meeting make him a slight favorite. But I won’t be the least bit surprised if Mir catches him again.

Mir will beat him again him training with Maia tells me that he is going to have several new tricks up his sleeve and don’t be surprised if Mir catches Brock out of nowhere to get the win.

Anything can happen but Lesnar can’t become a world class MMA grappler in a matter of months. I’m sure he’s improved but he doesn’t have any advantage in this fight that he didn’t in the previous. I think Mir will do a good job keeping the fight in the feet for a round or so, use his kicks to keep Lesnar at bay, and then in the mid to later rounds he will work the takedown and get a top-side submission.

Am I the only one who had never even heard the name Brock Lesnar before his first MMA fight was announced?

I think something that everybody tends to forget is that if Lesnar keeps winning and becomes the huge name that (most) people expect him to be, there is the possibility that this could convince Fedor to come to the UFC, for at least one fight. He has stated himself before that he would like to fight Brock, and everyone knows that Fedor is starting to run out of opponents outside of the UFC. Not to stir shit up to much, but I think alot of the new HW blood in the UFC might, in time, be a considerable challenge to Fedor and give him some real troubles, as well as other elite HWs. Guys like Lesnar, Carwin, Velasquez and Dos Santos are going to be the future of the sport need to be promoted as such, so these are the fights in the long term we should be shooting for. The only way to do this is for them to continue facing the most elite competition. It also gives incentive to the “elites” like Arlovsky, Barnett, Sylvia, Cro-Cop, etc. who have become lackadaisical and one-dimensional in there age to start upping there game and take training a little more seriously, which could also help them getting employed by Zuffa again (well, everyone except Barnett). Honestly, in my personnal opinion, whether you like the guy or not, Lesnar winning against Mir is the best thing for the UFC and as fans will only benifit us in the long run.