UFC 119: Frank Mir’s Knee of Victory
In front of a sold out crown at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Frank Mir proved once again why he is still a force to be reckoned with in the octagon.
Frank Mir defeated Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic with a devastating knee to the head late in the third round of their heavyweight main event fight. After being booed for the majority of the fight, Mir finally gave the crowd what they wanted with just under a minute left in the match. Cro Cop went in, and Mir put him right back down. Grabbing the back of Cro Cop’s head and forcing a vicious thrust to the head with his right knee, Mir sent him straight to the canvas.
Don’t hit a man while he’s down is not a rule to live by in the MMA. Frank Mir quickly jumped on Cro Cop and finished him off with a quick left-right to the chin before the match was ended by referee Herb Dean.
Mir entered the bout 13 lbs lighter, and in far better shape, then in his most recent fights. After losing 2 of his last 3 fights to opponents who out-sized him, Mir took a different approach at UFC 119. It looks like he learned his lesson after being pummeled by the likes of beastly Brock Lesnar in UFC 100 and Shane Carwin in UFC 111. A vegetarian diet and rigorous endurance exercising proved to be the right formula to top one of the world’s elite, but aging, martial artist in Mirko (Cro Cop) Filipovic.
On the other hand, let’s show some remorse for Cro Cop. Once haled as the best fighter in all of Russia, as well as all of Pride Fighting Championship, age and injury has become a factor. Not to mention the fact that he agreed to the fight less than 6 weeks prior, as a replacement for injured Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Getting thrown into a fight with such little time to train may not have been the best idea for the 36 year old.
After the fight, Cro Cop was very apologetic to all of his fans for his lack-luster performance. “I’m sorry like a dog! I could eat myself alive! I can only congratulate Mir, he really caught me with that knee,” Cro Cop said to Croatian site Index.hr. This likely spells then end for one of the most decorated fighters in this sport.
As for Mir, what does the future hold for the 31 year old trying to KO his way back to the top? He clearly did not show what it takes to be a UFC champion in this victory over Cro Cop. I know it, every fan watching in attendance or at home knows it, and without a doubt UFC President Dana White knows it. “I have no clue about Frank,” said White, in a post-fight interview. “To talk the stuff he does and then fight like he fought that’s a little frustrating.
In my opinion, if Frank Mir has the determination to continue his rigorous training regimens, he will get his chances to get back to the top. This however will not be an easy road, nor will it be a short one. Fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was the fight Mir needed to re-establish himself. But that’s not what he got. Instead, he fought an end of the line fighter in Mirko Cro Cop, and barely kept the crowd awake (except for that devastating knee KO, of course).
Perhaps once Nogueira is done recuperating from injury, fight fans will get the match they wanted. Until then, only the future will tell what’s in store for Frank Mir.
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