Frank Mir and UFC 102
One of the more interesting developments coming out of UFC 102 has been the way Antonio Nogueira’s loss to Frank Mir has been diminished. After a strong showing against Couture, it seems like more fans are giving Nog a pass for his poor performance against Mir due to the knee injuries and staph infection before the fight.
While Mir’s right in his assertion that many fighters come into big fights with injuries here and there, most don’t come into bouts with the degree of the problems Nogueira faced. And, to his credit, Nogueira wasn’t the one making a big deal out of them. Still, the Nogueira that beat Randy Couture, in my opinion, is good enough to take out Frank Mir.
I hope it’s a fight we get to see. It’s a logical opponent for Nogueira if he loses to Brock Lesnar, which Mir is already counting as a given. I do agree with Frank on that one, but unlike Mir, I definitely think Nogueira has a chance (if he is the next to face Lesnar after Shane Carwin). And I think he has a much better chance of taking Lesnar’s title than Mir did.
While Mir’s right in his assertion that many fighters come into big fights with injuries here and there, most don’t come into bouts with the degree of the problems Nogueira faced. And, to his credit, Nogueira wasn’t the one making a big deal out of them. Still, the Nogueira that beat Randy Couture, in my opinion, is good enough to take out Frank Mir.
I hope it’s a fight we get to see. It’s a logical opponent for Nogueira if he loses to Brock Lesnar, which Mir is already counting as a given. I do agree with Frank on that one, but unlike Mir, I definitely think Nogueira has a chance (if he is the next to face Lesnar after Shane Carwin). And I think he has a much better chance of taking Lesnar’s title than Mir did.
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
Lets not look past Shane Carwin and scheduleg Nog for Lesnar's next victim. Shane is a similar fighter as Brock in style and size, but has more experience.
Posted by: Perry | September 4, 2009 4:08 PM
Umm, while I am a Big Nog fan, I don't think it's fair to write off Mir so effortlessly. Mir DID beat Brock and Nogueira. Let's not forget that. I understand that Nog was battling staph, but he took some heavy shots from Mir, and I think he was counting on taking a beating to get to a submission like he always does, but Mir was too smart and crafty to go to the ground. Nog has a chance to beat Brock if Brock beats Carwin, but don't knock Mir. He's the only guy with a "W" on Lesnar.
Posted by: Mason | September 6, 2009 1:10 PM