Mythbusters #1: Mir vs. Nog @ UFC 92
So after writing my piece on Rashad vs. Tito I decided to start a new feature - we’ll shoot for every Tuesday for this bad boy.
Here we go:
Myth: Maybe I’m just imagining things, but it seem like there are a decent number of people on the message forums who think Mir vs. Nog at 92 is “going to be a close fight” or that “Mir has a better chance than most think.”
Reality: This will NOT be a close fight and Mir has NO chance of winning.
I don’t see why Mir is getting the title shot in the first place. His three wins since coming back from his accident have been a decision over Dan freaking Christison in which he looked AWFUL. I would seriously rather self-inflict five paper cuts than watch that fight again. He then subbed Antoni Hardonk which means nothing and tapped a very green Brock Lesnar. I’ll give him props for the Lesnar win, but I still don’t think it should have propelled him to a title shot anymore than Brock’s win over Herring should have given him one.
In any event, Nog is going to destroy him. Antonio has a decided advantage on the feet and probably the ground too, though it’s certainly close. Minotauro has never been stopped and Mir won’t be the man to do it – and I don’t envision Frank being able to take the decision given his penchant for gassing.
Fact is, there’s a reason why Nog has been considered the #2 heavyweight in the world for years. Mir just isn’t in his league.
I must say though, I liked how Mir came across on TUF this season. Sure he was arrogant, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy and a knowledgeable coach.
And as always, if Mir proves me wrong I will take my lumps like a man – but don’t bet on it happening.
Any Mir fans want to enlighten me on why I’m wrong?
-Ken
http://www.IntelligentlyDefending.com
Tags: MMA, Mythbusters, UFC, UFC 92
December 24th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
[...] I’ve written at length about how Mir has no chance – and I will not be backing off this claim. If you want a good synopsis of why this is going to be lop-sided you can check out my Mythbusters fr… [...]
December 29th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
yes, Nog has been considered the #2 HW fighter in the world. But I have to ask, why?
Because his fight record?
Lets see who he has beat:
David DODD
Nate SCHROEDER
Valentijn OVEREEM
Iour KOTCHKINE
Jeremy HORN
Andrei KOPYLOV
Achmed LABASANOV
Kiyoshi TAMURA
Volk HAN
Hiromitsu KANAHARA
Gary GOODRIDGE
Mark COLEMAN
Heath HERRING
Enson INOUE
Sane Kikura
Bob SAPP
Semmy SCHILT
Dan HENDERSON
Rico RODRIGUEZ
CROCOP
Hirotaka YOKOI
Pawel NASTULA
Josh BARNETT
Tim SYLVIA
Aside from Sylvia , Henderson (who he has also lost to), Barnett (who he has also lost to), Ricco Rodriguez, it’s not an impressive group he has defeated.
Coleman was past his prime when Nog beat him, SAPP is huge but skill wise nothing special. CROCOP has no ground skills and was dominating the fight, but got taken down and was submitted.
Why is he ranked the #2 HW? The majority of his wins sure didn’t come through opponents who were impressive.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Sorry, Goodridge was a straight kickboxer I believe and Heath is not a top level fighter although he is well known. Inoue is a decent fighter I guess but not top level either.
September 24th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
[...] one was originally scheduled to be Frank Mir vs. Big Nog which would have given me a chance at vindication. Unfortunately, an injury to Antonio forced him to pull out of this [...]