Frank Mir has long been one of my favorite MMA fighters. From his modified shoulder lock on Pete Williams to breaking Tim Sylvia's arm and knocking out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mir certainly has his fair share of highlights. More than that however is his indefeatable swagger and confidence. Not to mention his articulate nature.
In spite of all of those qualities however, it is jiu-jitsu for which he is best known. He may not be the best pure jiu-jitsu practitioner in the world, or even the UFC for that matter (Demain Maia), but his grappling skills are well adapted to the diverse artform of MMA. It is this well-honed skill that has allowed him to amass more submissions and victories than any other heavyweight inside the famed Octagon.
This however is a new era. It's a cliche that gets tossed around in the MMA world for one reason. It's true. Fighters like Rory McDonald, Jose Aldo, Cain Velasquez and Demetrious Johnson all truly redefine the term "all-around fighters". Don't get me wrong, Frank Mir is a decent striker, but his wrestling is mediocre at best. What you're left with is a massive man with incredible jiu-jitsu, and knockout power. To take a dimmer view, his striking is powerful but slow and a tad predictable. And neither his takedown accuracy nor takedown defense is what one would call excellent.
This leaves Mir as one of the dinosaurs in the heavyweight division. One better suited for the days of Tank Abbot and Tim Sylvia than Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. The heavyweights of today are far better strikers and can nullify the obvious advantage that Mir has on the mat. This isn't to say that strikers are superior fighters, but as mentioned previously Frank Mir has mediocre takedown accuracy. If he can't get his opponents to the ground, who can he beat?
Frank Mir's next match-up will see him face another old guard like himself in Josh Barnett. And truthfully, I actually like him in that fight. The fight is an opportunity for him to get another notch in the win column following consecutive losses but still far from a warm-up match.
As Mir ages, even the fighters he would have once beaten will gain an edge on him. And he will fall even further from gatekeeper to has been. It would be sad for Frank Mir to face the same fate as BJ Penn. The longer a fighter prods on past their prime, the more distant a memory their greatness become. As it is already, Mir's record is a pedestrian 16-7. Mir should be remembered as a lethal grappler with devastating knockout power. Those gifts however are insufficient to allow him to keep up with the new breed of fighters though, and it would be a shame for him to be remembered as an inadequate wrestler with rudimentary striking skills.
What do you think? Is it the end of the road for Frank Mir, or does he have another run at the belt in him?
No comments:
Post a Comment