Frank Mir | JDS Avoids The Ground Like Poison – Ready To Take The Title
By Jamie McAllister
Frank Mir in an interview with HDNet’s “Inside MMA,”
Mir comments on his next opponent Junior Dos Santos.
“Obviously, we’re fighting a guy who’s made his career now of not going to the ground. The only time I’ve ever seen him take a shot is if he’s pretty handily winning the fight. He just does it to, maybe a change of pace to throw something out there. But as far as, you see when people engage him, he’s a ‘throw punches and run’ kind of guy. He doesn’t wanna sit there and get grabbed and taken down. He’s not gonna fight that battle. If he was capable of doing it, we probably would’ve seen it already. The fact is that he avoids it like it’s poison. I think for two reasons: One, I don’t think he’s probably that very good on the ground, and two, he is so good on his feet.”
Mir comments on how he got the title shot.
“Well, you know, an opportunity arose, because it looked like Overeem wasn’t gonna be able to be licensed to fight for the title. So, I just wanted to make sure that I spoke my mind. I opened up my mouth and I said what I’m sure every other heavyweight in the UFC has to feel, that I want to fight for the title.”
Mir comments on his preparation for the original Velasquez bout and how he had also prepared for Dos Santos.
“Well, you know what, because I was scheduled to fight Cain Velasquez already, on May 26, two things entered my mind. One, Cain Velasquez is known for having a gas tank. So, even if you’re in a fight and you’re beating him, first, second round, the guy can always come back. He has a phenomenal ability just to drive forward. You saw that with Cheick Kongo. Even though he was hit by him and hurt, he was able to come back and, by attrition, came forward. And so, we were already preparing for what we expected to be a hard, gritty battle. And on top of that, we had already told the coaches, ‘Hey, you know what? It happens all the time in MMA.’ The UFC is flooded with stories of main events being changed over due to injuries. Since I’m already fighting on the card with the heavyweight battles being taken on, why not be ready? I don’t wanna take a chance to where, a week out, three or four days out — sometimes the day before, you fight out that someone can’t compete and someone has to step up, and I wanted to be able to do so.”
Mir makes comparisons between the skill sets of Velasquez & Dos Santos.
“Well, Velasquez, I think, is an excellent boxer and wrestler. I think he’s really well-rounded. I know that he count against dos Santos. A lot of people knock his boxing skills, but a couple fights before, he was knocking Nogueira out, within a minute. So, I really thought that was a bad interpretation of what Velasquez brought. The only difference that I feel with dos Santos is that dos Santos is the better boxer, quicker hands. He just isn’t as multi-faceted as Velasquez is. As far as, when you fight dos Santos, I don’t think it’s any secret, he has no chance of winning the fight if it goes to the ground. If we go into a wrestling match, he’s in trouble. He has to keep it where he’s best at, and you know, he’s the best boxer in the heavyweight division.”
Mir also briefly comments on his strategy for Dos Santos.
“I agree. I think if you move away from him, in the past when you see anyone move back, he gains momentum coming forward and is able to generate that much more power. I think the best way to fight him is, you know, take how (Evander) Holyfield fought Mike Tyson. You can’t back up on a guy who’s very powerful and very quick. It only gives him momentum to build forward. You have to come forward and crash.”
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Jamie McAllister
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I don’t know if it’s a good idea to crash with Dos Santos. Maybe if you were Allistair with superb boxing skills it’d make sense, but crashing with him using wrestling might be a bit too much. Dos Santos is hard to take down, but I guess that’s the only shot you have.
Why wouldnt he crash? He’s 265 he has the power and the ability..dont forget. Mir has great hands…the only thing I wouldnt advise is to exchange punches. Mir dont take punches to good. Lol
Frank Mir is banking on dos santos being bad on the ground… i dont see it not training with the nog brothers… Frank should wear his comfiest jammies to the octagon cause he is going to sleep
agreed, he doesnt realize that if his takedown defense is that amazing, can u imagine how quickly he could stand up.
Yeah, but he just snapped Big Nogs arm.. The fact that jds received his black belt from The man that Mir just destroyed, gives him a huge boost of confidence.
he’s only brown belt. get your facts right.
frank mir is crafty; should be either an interesting scrap or a knockout by JDS.
Cigano may very well be bad on the ground. However, you have to get him there first to find out. Plus, I believe he has a BJJ competition award, or am I mistaken?
If the fight goes to the ground Frank Mir will submit JDS simple as that. JDS is a brown belt under the Nogueira Brothers, but Mir has proven that Nog jiu-jitsu isn’t at the same level of his.
This being said Mir will have one hell of a time getting in and getting a takedown on JDS because of his quickness and his pretty effective takedown defense.
Someone get frankie boy a blanket and pillow,then throw it in the octagon anytime in the 2nd round for him coz he’s going asleep,think everyone thought the same thought when Mir snapped big nogs arm that if jds ever got the chance he’d absolutely ktfo of Mir!!!and I’m sticking with that thought as well.
Hahaha best comment ive seen so far
Frank, let’s be real. JDS’s hands are going to **** you up, and you are trying to lure him to a jiu-jitsu battle using the oldest trick in the book….”What are you chicken?”
Mir will knock out Dos Santos ! I am sure of this just like Mir vs Big Nog one !
Mir won’t even see it coming. He’ll be put to sleep right away. JDS has incredible takedown defense, no way Mir can take him down. He will get KO’d in the stand up.
Nog rocked him, the ref gave him a bullshit warning for hitting the back of the head so he decided to submit him. But he did it too hasty and Mir miraculously capitalized on that mistake.
JDS won’t make that mistake cause he will KO him on the feet.
He is right but how you gonna get him there Frankie Murr
He is still dazed by the punches of Big Nog.
U were out cold 4 a few secs , by Nog’s punches . if he touches u , RIP MIR
cant wait to see another amazing destruction of mir. dont you guys just love the way he breaks down after taking a big shot. i say mir deserves a reward for always being put to sleep in the most dramatic, brutal fashion.
As much as I think JDS is a really great fighter, I think everyone is now on the JDS hype train. As much as I think this fight can easily end in a TKO, I wouldnt be surprised if Mir submits JDS and exposes his weak ground game.
How do you know his ground game is weak?
don’t forget people frank does have great boxing he comes in on angles that most fighters can’t but his chin is weak
JDS is a MMA boxer first and a jujitsu practitioner secondly. I’m not surprised that he relies on his boxing. It is his most valuable asset in the Octagon.
Sorry Mir you’re going down.
Mir is not a good enough wrestler to get dos Santos down and keep him down. Mir is also not that great of a striker and can’t take too many shots before getting rocked, evidence of that is his fight with Carwin and the 2nd fight with Nogueira. Mir was rocked in that fight and was fortunate that Nog tried to submit him instead of pound him out. Mir is a great fighter but this is a terrible match up for him.
Mir probably has more power in his hands than JDS, but Cigano has the skill set to make it just perfect with his power and knock people out, he’s gonna be too damn quick to Mir, just like he was to Velazquez, Carwin, and everyone else he has fought in the UFC…
Junior by TKO in the half of the second round, or at the end of the first…
Gonna be a sick fight and a sick night though
I love how everyone hates on Mir like he didn’t hold the belt, beaten Brock, big nog twice amongst others. Give your opinions but trashing a guy that has a job that would make most of you cry is ridiculous. Give him his credit. But I will say jds hands will be the difference; it ain’t going to the ground
yeah when Mir was the Champ who were the contenders? And are any of those contenders still in the ufc. Having the UFC belt more then five years ago doesnt mean anything considering the talent that has developed since then. A belt more then five years old is worthless now
YEAH YEAH MIR GOT LUCKY WITH NOG OR IT WAS THE REFF’S FAULT AND BLAH BLAH BLAH IF YOU ARE COUNTING MIR OUT YOU ARE COMPLETELY OFF YOUR ROCKER. WAR MIR!!!!!!!!
Mir Is a punchface….going to get his face punched in! JR FTW!
As far as jds ground game…….. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didnt exist
Mir will get ko’d in record time. 0.4 seconds. Junior will blow in his face from across the cage.
Mir KO’d Nog in first fight…..broke his arm in second fight……win or lose,Mir fights are always good fights…….If he can avoid getting tagged by JDS overhand right….he has a chance…both fighters are proven dangerous…..so whoever wins , it will be good fight