Six months ago, Frank Mir woozily exited the Octagon, his face resembling something that would make a twisted, cannibalistic version of the Hamburglar salivate with hunger. This was the man that was going to answer the prayers of every Tom, Dick, and Harry posting on Sherdog.com by vanquishing mean, stupid, untalented, unworthy Brock Lesnar? Heck, Frank Mir could trump Brock any day of the week in a game of "name that MMA term" with polysyllabic words like gogopolata. But did that really matter when fist repeatedly meets face? Frank could try all he wanted to be the strongest man in the gym; Brock could lift the gym.
Post-UFC 100 interviews indicated that Mir unsurprisingly was lobbying for a best of three series. But who wants to watch a rematch when in the previous two fights, one competitor had the advantage for a total of maybe, lets be generous here, 15 seconds? 1-1 records look even on paper, but in the minds of most fans, a third encounter would largely have been met with ambivalence. Time to move on to bigger and better for Brock and for Mir, a potential one-way ticket down the food chain. Did I mention that Mir's only win subsequent to the first Brock encounter was against a guy who looked like he was doing motion capture for the most recent Resident Evil video game?
And all of that changed in just 72 seconds, in Memphis, Tenn. of all places. Now it's Mir in the driver's seat, with Lesnar sitting on the sidelines, perhaps never to fight again, due to an assortment of maladies, one of which is so hard to pronounce properly, you know it's serious. What a crazy sport this truly is.
So now bring back the UFC 100 Countdown video and all the contrasts and comparisons, watch as Mir has one of his buddies play a dumb, angry version of Brock Lesnar (or in some people's minds, the regular version of Brock Lesnar). Ironically, partial credit must go to Mir's ability to talk and tell a good story as a reason for peaking everyone's interest, an ability that would suit him quite well in the professional wrestling industry. So well, in fact, that noted WWE commentator Jim Ross wrote in his blog that Mir would make an excellent heel (read: bad guy). In the end, how different are Mir and Brock really?
Different enough that this March, in beautiful Newark, New Jersey, one may very well be fighting for the UFC Heavyweight Championship while the other may very well be locked in seclusion on a North Dakota ranch, embarking a slow road to recovery the length of which may still be unknown. Six months ago, Frank Mir woozily exited the Octagon, the blood still damp and fresh on his face, while Brock politely flipped off the crowd and insulted one of UFC's main corporate sponsors, looking damn near close to invincible.
How badly do you want to see Lesnar-Mir III now?
Steve Sutcliffe is best known for his motion-capture role as Kratos in the God of War video games. Send fan mail to steve.w.sutcliffe@gmail.com.
[Frank Mir art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]
FAVOR: Would you help MMATorch by taking a short survey to create demographic info for our ad company? CLICK HERE
ALERT: Every Tuesday night, listen to the MMATorch Livecast from 9-10:30 p.m. ET or listen now to the most recent shows by clicking here. Listen live this coming Tuesday as Jamie Penick and Matt Pelkey discuss the latest MMA happenings. Online listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mmatorch or call into the show at 646-716-8090 to either just listen or participate.
THANK YOU STEVE!!!! AT LAST..an EDUCATED writer of MMA who injects first
rate sources of info to enlighted the johny come lately's of the ever
growing Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) Fan Club!!!!!
Frank Mir is a Good fighter and an even better talker. Strategic in word
placement, he chooses his verbal spots with methodical execution. The
silver toungued fighter has found himself humiliated and defeated while
scurrying for the right verbage with a big foot his mouth....HIS. He was
quated saying "Brock Will Never Beat Me" Brock Lesnars post fight antics (
with Mir)felt justified to equalize all the smack talk Mir did prior to the
beatdown he recieved at UFC 100.
The payout for all of Mirs verbal deposits have earned him a public craving
for a Lesnar Vs. Mir III. Last time i checked if it wasnt for "stache"
stoping and then re-starting the first fight..Lesnar would have all but
dominated that fight to a damn victory. The second fight he got it right.
THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE END OF THAT. The Latest Win over Kongo was good
but expected as Kongo and Mir were a mismatch to begin with.
Now.... Brock Lesnar may be out for some time....dammmmn! If Mir gets his
probable wish they will meet for a final time to see if Mir will get his
"last laugh" and send the Dumb ogre back to pro wrastlin' where he
belongs....(says Mir and a slew of Lensar haters [in so many words])
I wish Lesnar well and a speedy recovery so that he may come back and
destroy hamburger face for good.
~M~
Cole
07 Jan 2010, 23:43
I'm one of those so-called "Lesnar haters", but I also can't stand Mir. For
me I'd love to see a Mir vs. Lesnar III because either one of them is going
to lose. I just hope that whoever fights the winner wins. I really don't
care who.
Zombie
08 Jan 2010, 01:37
I am also one of those 'Lesnar haters' and I definitely wanna see Mir vs
Lesnar III.
Brock 'The <ock' Lesnar does not deserve to be the Champ specially with
just four fights.... He just overpowers his opponents and i always beleive
Technique can overcome Power... I am not saying Mir has all that technique
but he is surely one of those who can... Fedor without a doubt is on top of
that list... I hope Lesnar recovers soon and faces Mir...
dave
08 Jan 2010, 11:13
I'm not the biggest Lesnar fan in the world but seriously, the 'Lesnar does
not deserve anything because he just overpowers his opponents' argument is
probably the stupidest most ridiculous arguments there is. Surely anyone
able to process information on an adult level must see the gaping holes in
that primary colours way of thinking. Since when did overpowering opponents
become an invalid technique? Should Brock lie on his back and give his
opponents a 20 second head start just because he's bigger than they are?
The biggest problem I have with it in this case is that you, Zombie, seem
completely unaware of the massive contradiction within your own argument.
Surely if Brock only used power, and technique can overcome power (a point
which i agree with incidentally) then the second fight with Mir would have
went the way of the first. The very fact that you are referring to a Lesnar
win would seem to indicate that Lesnar somehow managed to refine his power
and control it in a way that did not allow Mir's superior jujitsu to decide
the contest. I have no problem with people hating Lesnar but I really do
wish that they would engage the brain and think of an actual valid reason
before polluting the site with their mental diahorrea