UFC
UFC 146: Frank Mir wants people to remember the success he's had against strikers
May 23, 2012 - 6:30:37 PM UFC 146: Frank Mir wants people to remember the success he's had against strikers

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Heading into Saturday's UFC 146 event, the majority of fans and pundits are having a hard time seeing Frank Mir dethroning UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos. However, Mir wants to remind those doubters about the types of opponents he's had success against throughout his career, as dos Santos fits in that mold.

"I think that sometimes it's overlooked [that I've beaten several straight strikers]," Mir said in an interview with ESPN UK. "I think most [people] get stuck in, 'Well, you fought this guy' and individual thought on how did you do. And they've got to realise that A, B, C fighters, we've gone through the whole thing before on who does well. Sometimes it comes down to style. And with my style I've predominantly done better with people that use more striking or know the submission games."

Indeed, Mir's biggest struggles have come against strong wrestlers with powerful striking, suffering brutal knockout losses against Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. But while he's had to work on that aspect of his game, he says he feels more than comfortable in his striking game into this bout.

"I've had to work harder on the wrestling-based [fighters] as far as control and position," he said, "and so that's why, if you look at my training, it's geared towards wrestling more because I am so comfortable with the boxing and the kick-boxing aspects and also dealing with submission guys."

Penick's Analysis: Mir has had success with his striking game before, most notably his bout with Cheick Kongo where he scored a knockdown into a submission. That said, dos Santos has shown a very good chin himself, and in a straight striking match is going to have the edge over Mir every time. Mir can't be counted out entirely, but it's very reasonable to believe he's a significant underdog given his penchant for getting hit, and hard, quite often in his fights, and dos Santos having the power to put him out cold. It's going to be an interesting fight, though, and he does have a well-rounded skill set; an upset would be surprising, but it's certainly not impossible.

[Frank Mir art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]