Frank Mir is rumored to be fighting Cheick Kongo in December in a fight that almost nobody cares about. It’s a decent heavyweight fight, but there’s a much better fight just begging to be made, and it’s a rematch from UFC 92.
A huge cloud hangs over the first Mir vs. Nogueira fight. Nogueira had a torn up knee and was severely weakened by staph infection. At the same time, Mir put out his back weeks earlier, a fact often overlooked by those looking to excuse Nogueira’s performance. Still, not all injuries are created equal, and the Nogueira we saw looked like a broken down shell of his former self.
Frank Mir says it was the same Nogueira that fought Couture, but I think a simple viewing of his fight with Couture suggests otherwise to all by the most oblivious viewer. He moved at the pace of a senior citizen against Mir, never really threw any punches, and failed to put together any combinations at all. I think Mir is well aware of this.
Mir’s recent comments regarding Nogueira are certainly calculated. He is aiming to talk his way into a big fight, and I think he will be successful. Nogueira’s been listening to these interviews, and according to Ed Soares, he’s none too pleased:
Rodrigo just got off the phone with me, and we were talking about it…Nogueira feels he is not making excuses…he’s giving the reason he performed the way he did back in December.
There’s a big difference between making excuses and giving the reason why. And just to prove that Nogueira is not making excuses, he wants his next fight to be against Mir, and he wants to fight him in December.
A rematch has to happen to answer all the questions. Both fighters want a rematch, fans will be very interested in a rematch, and from a business perspective, the fight makes a ton of sense. If Nogueira wins, he can ride into a title match on a huge wave of momentum. If Mir knocks him off again, he’s on his way to a rubber match with Lesnar. Either way, the UFC wins.
If Nogueira beats Mir and Lesnar beats Carwin, Lesnar vs. Nogueira will be a monstrous fight in 2010. With a “UFC Primetime” special to hype the fight and highlight the difference between the two men, it could be one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history.
I considered the argument that it’s best to hold this fight off, because if Nogueira wins the title you have a natural first title defense against Mir. The argument makes sense, but it assumes too many things. It assumes Nogueira wins the title, and assumes Mir doesn’t get knocked out by Cheick Kongo in the meantime, taking him out of contention.
This is a hot fight right now, and would be a strong semi main event under Penn-Sanchez.