Who would have thought the UFC heavyweight landscape would change so drastically when Brock Lesnar joined the fold last year?
But it has. In the world of MMA, Lesnar’s impact has been as large as his frame.
Scoring a victory over legend Randy Couture earned him the UFC gold, and Frank Mir is looking to get back what was formerly his as the two showdown at UFC 100.
Lesnar has been throwing up some major trash talk, challenging Mir’s courage and asserting that the former champ is afraid of him. That will surely fire up Mir, but Lesnar needs no extra motivation. Revenge for his loss to Mir in the champ’s first bout in the UFC is incentive enough.
Here’s how these two heavyweights stack up against each other.
STRIKING
Lesnar KO’d Couture, and he is the only fighter to do so aside from Chuck Liddell. Lesnar possesses some colossal power in those gargantuan fists.
That being said, you have to take into consideration Mir is a seasoned vet who has been training striking for quite some time now. He’s been surrounded by striking and fighting his whole life via his father’s gym, and he has shown some solid skills, especially in his last fight against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Technically, you have to think Mir will have the edge in this area.
EDGE: Mir
WRESTLING
Lesnar is an outstanding wrestler and will have the ability to dictate where this fight takes place. He was able to quickly take down Mir in their first battle, and he likely will able to take down Mir whenever he decides he wants to attack on the ground.
Although Mir has some great wrestling of his own, Lesnar’s skill level is amongst the top in the world, especially in his weight category, so he’ll be fine defending any of Mir’s takedown attempts.
EDGE: Lesnar
GRAPPLING
Mir is a BJJ wizard who is one of the best grapplers MMA has seen at heavyweight. He moves very quick and transitions from submission attempt to another an frenzied pace, which has proven to be extremely dangerous, especially against relative newcomers to jiu-jitsu such as Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar’s strength could help him power out of some submissions, but if Mir gets a good hold of a limb, he’ll be gunning to break it. His submissions are his most effective tool in this fight.
EDGE: Mir
OUTCOME
This is a tough fight to call. Lesnar is quite dangerous with his fists on the ground and on the feet, and he has the ability to KO Mir from both positions. He also has the choice to decide where this fight takes place with his great wrestling skill. But does he want to take it to the mat with Mir’s submission ability?
Because this is a very complex fight, that is what makes it so interesting. It’s not a classic grappler versus striker; it’s a mix of everything.
Either Lesnar is going to show some new skills and continue his romp at heavyweight or have some of his weaknesses exposed in his game. He has a lot of holes in his game for sure, as would anyone just entering the sport, and it’s Mir’s job to expose them.
It could go either way, but Lesnar’s sheer power with his fists will be able to lead to a victory either on the ground or feet.
Victory to Lesnar







Interested in advertising online or in print?
