UFC
QUOTABLES: Frank Mir - "I don't think Alistair Overeem will do as well in the UFC as a lot of fans would like him to do"
Apr 22, 2011 - 7:50:21 PM QUOTABLES: Frank Mir - "I don't think Alistair Overeem will do as well in the UFC as a lot of fans would like him to do"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I was taken back by [the UFC purchasing Strikeforce]. I was like, wow, this has been in the works for months and I think they kept it under pretty good wraps. I don't think it was out there too much. No longer do we have to hear about, 'well this guy never got to fight this guy, or this guy never got to fight that guy.' With Strikeforce and UFC being under one, you know, Strikeforce being under the UFC banner, now every top 10 heavyweight in the world is all together now. Now there's no reason why we can't fight each other. And, again, what I said earlier about you're only as good as your competition. I never would want to be the king of a small pond, you know as they say the big fish in a small pond, you know? That bugs me. I like the idea of being like, 'that guy is the best and he's fought everybody' and that's just the way I look at it.

I still think Fedor is a great fighter. All fighters have slumps, all athletes have times in their career where they're not doing as well. Fedor just kind of ran into the problem that I always felt he would have ran into if he fought in a cage, which was that he's not a very big heavyweight. I've always admired him. That's weird that you say you admire somebody and your way of showing it is you want to punch them in the face but that's fighting I guess.

With all the guys [in the UFC] with the wrestling ability, I don't think [Alistair] Overeem will do as well as a lot of fans would like him to do. I think, obviously, the guy's won at K-1. You can't say enough about his stand-up, he's a great fighter. He has a pretty wicked guillotine, at least at light heavyweight he does, I haven't really seen him establish it too much since he's put the weight on. But he has some submissions off his back and move around. But he's been fighting in boxing rings and stuff and now going to fight in the cage, which he's had fights in cages, but you get some of the guys like a Velasquez or a Carwin or Brock and they change levels on you and they push you against the cage and they rip you down. So I think Overeem is going to have to deal with the cage now and when you're a striker, it's an issue."

-Frank Mir discusses the UFC's purchase of Strikeforce and comments on Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem in a video interview (transcribed by MMAMania.com.).

Penick's Analysis: Frank's right about Overeem, and that is what is going to be the biggest test for him when these crossover fights begin to happen. Overeem had difficulties at light heavyweight against fighters that could put him on his back, so the key to his future success will be how well his takedown defense has improved and whether he can keep his fights standing long enough to blast his opponents with his extremely dangerous striking game. The "big fish in a small pond" comment is also a very valid point, and something that will be a major change once an eventual merge happens. Guys like Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz will go back into the deep waters and hopefully will fight opponents much more suited for their skill level. Some fighters will fall, some will thrive, but we'll eventually finally see what the best of Strikeforce can do in the much deeper divisions in the UFC.

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