lol perfect
As a small HW with a mixed bag record, just seems like UFC wasn't throwing a bone. Like they want some guys to lose.
Yeah, I wonder if the motorcycle accident affected his kicks? His hands were inconsistent, but good at times (first Nog fight, knocking down Kongo early in their fight, etc.). I don't remember him throwing many kicks post-accident but maybe he did.
Yeah, I always thought that was Brock's peak. He already had a few fights against veterans (Mir #1, Herring, Couture) under his belt and worked with both a catch wrestling and BJJ coach. Came in with a great gameplan to destroy Mir's half-guard and executed flawlessly. After that, his diverticulitis kicked in hard and he was never the same.
True. Again, that's why the first Nogueira fight was so cool, because his striking was better than ever before and he even mixed in some kicks. But you're right, the fluidity of his movements, the speed and agility and flexibility, none of it was the same post-accident.
Especially in his early days, Mir was definitely one of the quicker HWs. I think that it was Rogan who said that Mir's uniqueness as a HW grappler was that he used "small man jiu-jitsu," i.e. focusing on technique and speed rather than position and power. And he was able to do that because he moved so well and was so quick despite being 6'3'' 240+.
When I was doing BJJ in high school, two of my friends were HUGE Mir fans. One of them started an account on here around the time of Mir's initial comeback when he was fat and fighting like shit, and he picked the name mirsgut. The other friend put as his signature, "I jerk off to the thought of a 240lb Frank Mir." There was even a fun moment when I was rolling with one of them and I went for an omoplata, he was on his knees defending, and then I started reaching back for his foot and he immediately went, "You trying to Mir me?"
I had to admit that that's exactly what I was trying to do, and nowhere near as successfully
Nothing to say except I agree.
I also once attempted the Bas Rutten Neck Crank.
That was more embarrassing because my friend (a different friend this time) had no idea what I was trying to do, so after I failed to do it, I had to explain to him what I was unable to do. It was like explaining a joke after bombing with it
I was proud of myself for being able to use Tsuyoshi Kosaka's slick mount escape a couple of times, including once straight into a leg lock.
Now that would've been a cool old school match to see, the rookie Mir versus the veteran TK
Ken Shamrock and Fedor seemed quicker to me at their best, not to mention a freak athlete like Kevin Randleman who had explosive speed and power, but then these guys were on the lighter end of HW, 15-30 pounds lighter than Mir and two or three inches shorter. Just talking pure speed, there have been quicker HWs, but for guys his size like Barnett and Ricco, Mir would leave them in the dust with his speed.
Hughes getting revenge for Miletich
Thank You! I was going from memory, and it's been a couple of decadesBarnett's victory over Couture is a great upset and I love how thoroughly Barnett gameplanned for Couture in the clinch and on the bottom, and Ricco's win over Couture is truly one of my favorite fights ever, but the fact that we didn't get to see Ricco go up against Barnett when they were both young and both competing in the UFC, that's a missed opportunity that'll always sting. I also think that the hungry and motivated Ricco who tore through the UFC would've given Nog a serious beating. By the time that they fought in 2003, Ricco was already much fatter and he didn't have the same fire (and he arguably still beat Nog). And then yeah, it would've been super cool to have seen Mir mix it up on the mat with Ricco or Barnett back in the early '00s.
Ha, yeah, the ultimate warrior with one of the toughest lists of opponents, of course he fought them all
No, that was UFC 34 when he powerbombed Newton. The rematch was about shutting up the skeptics and proving that he was the best WW on the planet. UFC 34 was for Miletich, UFC 38 was for Hughes.
