The Ground and Pound 07.11.09: The Power of Mir
Posted by John Curry on 07.11.2009
This week the Ground and Pound tries to figure out why Frank Mir is always underestimated. As well as my quick picks for UFC 100 and Threads of the Week.
That's right. I am back. Truth be told the world of Mixed Martial Arts is just too damn exciting to stay away from. There is so much going on in so many different aspects that your mind just starts to spin when you try to keep up. I am back and blasting through namely due to the responses I have seen about the upcoming bouts at UFC 100.
First of all let me say, when I watched my very first UFC, UFC 1, I never would have imagined that it would have developed into this billion dollar industry where so many of my generation would become ardent fans. There is no comparison to the first UFC pay-per-view and the extravaganza that will be put on at UFC 100. The UFC has pulled out all strings to give us a phenomenal PPV that may blow any of the previous ninety-nine out of the water. GSP defending his title against the man who put Matt Hughes out of commission, Thiago Alves. Ultimate fighter coaches Michael Bisping goes toe to toe with the legendary Hendo with a date against Anderson Silva on the line. The debut of highly touted Japanese Judo expert Yoshihiro Akiyama. UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman goes against Stephan Bonnar who is trying to rebound from his steroid issues. But the real headline and quite possibly the match that is truly filling those expensive plush seats for UFC 100, lies in the battle between the monster Brock Lesnar and the man Frank Mir.
Since the match was announced by Dana White following Frank Mir's destruction of then Heavyweight Champion Minatauro Noguiera, Mir has been immediately cast as the underdog yet again. While Brock Lesnar is quite possibly the most intimidating looking individual in MMA today and possibly the strongest person to ever enter the Octagon, Mir has come out a winner against him before (albeit in a controversial manner). The real question is how does Frank Mir, a previous Heavyweight Champion, always seem to end up on the dark side of the odds makers? Every time they have tried to make him the underdog has always seemed to prevail in devastating fashion. Seriously, let's look at Mir's past.
When Mir first arrived in the UFC he was paired up against Pete William, the man who is best known for his explosive knockout win by head kick against future Hall of Famer Mark Coleman. Many people did not give Mir much of a chance to win. The outcome? Submission by armbar at 1:03 of the first round.
Then came Tank Abbott. A man who was synonymous with many of the fans of the UFC since its inception as a bar room brawler with amazing knockout power. Again came the critics citing that Abbott's knockout power would be too much for Mir to overcome. Especially considering Mir had just come off a TKO loss to Ian Freeman. Once again, Mir destroyed Abbott by submitting him with a toe hold in just 46 seconds.
In 2004, Mir would once again defy his underdog status by fighting Tim Sylvia for the Heavyweight Title. In what would become one of the UFC's signature clip's Mir not only submitted Sylvia by an armbar, he broke his arm after Sylvia refused to tap. With this win, Mir earned his first UFC title but most importantly, his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Mir would lose his Championship to an unknown fighter named Moe T. Cycle. For those of you who don't understand that, Mir was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. The accident nearly ended Mir's career. Yet again, Mir defied the odds and returned to earn back the title he never technically lost. Unfortunately his return saw him lose 2 of 3 fights. Many fans and critics began to say that Mir had lost the momentum and swagger that had made him a heavyweight title holder.
Since then something finally clicked in Mir's head and he has returned to the form that made him one of the most dominant heavyweight submission fighters in the world. He submitted Antoni Hardonk, submitted Brock Lesnar, and TKO'd the legend Minatauro. Now he has a chance to silence all of the critics yet again by beating Lesnar to be the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Before you call me a fool, look at Mir's statistics:
6'3" Tall
255 lbs
Record of 12-3
BJJ Black Belt (which he earned in only 5 years)
Father taught Kenpo Karate since he was a child.
Nevada State Wrestling Champion
NAGA Absolute Division Champion
UFC Undisputed Heavyweight Title Bout: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
Winner: Frank Mir Submission Round 1
THREADS OF THE WEEK
Since the UFC's new 100,000 buy in to sponsor a fighter, I feel it is now more important than ever for me to continue to seek out and find the newest small time companies who are trying to make it big by showing their love of MMA by helping sponsor fighters. Remember one of these people may be the next TapOut.
This week's Threads of the Week goes to Born 2 Bang
This week I chose Born 2 Bang because not only do I like the in your face idea that says "I was born to fight" and enjoy the double gunned fighter design, but more importantly because the owners of the company show a passion towards Mixed Martial Arts that goes beyond simply trying to earn a buck. Often times I will find a shirt company or gear where the individuals have absolutely no idea what MMA is or is about and worse, no concern for those who they sponsor.
I asked Houston Murphy, one of the founders to give me one paragraph explaining to me where Born2Bang came from and what their purpose is. Here is the response I received:
Born2Bang Athletics was created out of a true love for MMA. I, Houston Murphy, along with close friends Chris Kraft and Quentin Forrester, came up with the idea for Born2Bang a few years back while watching a MMA fight. We had talked about the idea in the past, but always just brushed it under the table. The dream was to do something to help the sport of MMA grow, but we also wanted to help out all of the young unknown fighters that we could. Realizing that not every fighter has the good fortune to get in the cage and bang it out for the fans, our goal was to help progress as many careers as we could in the great sport of Mixed Martial Arts and leave our own unique mark on the sport.
It is because of a huge effort by all the people associated with Born2Bang that we have gotten off the ground, and we are where we are today.
Born2Bang would also like to give a special thanks to Mickey Dubberly. Mickey is the owner of KO Dynasty, a management company for all the top profile fighters. He has helped to get us great sponsorship exposure on television stations such as Spike TV, HDNET, and PPV. Check out .KOdynasty.com www.KODynasty.com. A special thanks is also in order for Andre Drake of 1144 Athletics, and to all those who have helped Born2Bang grow from an idea, to a reality
TEAM BORN2BANG
"You may not know us now....but you will."
Something seems to be working for them as they have a good roster of established and up and coming fighters including "The Dentist" Josh Neer, UFC 100 fighter Matt Grice, and LC Davis among others.
B2B's complete roster:
LC DAVIS
MATT GRICE
JOSH NEER
KYLE BRADLEY
ALONZO MARTINEZ
JOE "HITMAN" ELMORE
JAMES "YES MAN" LOGAN
RABID ROB MONDLOCH
DON RICHARD
TONY "LIONHEART" HARVEY
JUSTIN "TIMBERSNAKE" SUGGS
BRYCE "TWINKLE TOES" CROWL
LOGAN "LA" ANDERSON
JOHN MAHLOW
FRANK MILSAP
DK MARTIN
LEWIS "THE BEAST" RUMSEY
RYAN "THE HAMMER" HORD
CHRIS "THE REAL DEAL" BEAL
If you know of any company or individual who is doing something special for the world of MMA please do not hesitate to send them my way and they may chosen to be featured as the Thread of the Week.
Before I go… I would like to send a personal congratulations from myself and the staff of 411 MMA to Jens Pulver and his lovely wife on their wedding. I would also like to send a personal thank you to Pat "Hype or Die" Barry for helping me out with the Fact or Fiction this week. Get better then GET HYPE!.
