[Sniggles]

Mir Buying in Bulk Against Carwin

Tuesday, March 16, 2010
by Brian Knapp

Much was made about Frank Mir’s decision to add some 20 pounds of muscle to his frame in advance of his UFC 107 matchup with Cheick Kongo. However, the brief bout with the chiseled French kickboxer lasted barely more than a minute and shed little light on whether or not a bulkier Mir was a better Mir.

That figures to change when he takes on the hulking Shane Carwin in the UFC 111 “St. Pierre vs. Hardy” co-main event on March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

“Carwin’s been an athlete his size a lot longer than I’ve been at mine,” Mir said during a Tuesday teleconference to promote the interim heavyweight title bout. “The greatest indication of whether [adding more weight has] been beneficial will be whether or not I can negate some of his strength.”

One of the more powerful competitors in the heavyweight division, the undefeated Carwin has not competed in more than a year. He believes the time off will prove helpful in his quest to reach the pinnacle of the division.

“The time off has given me a year of technique to work on,” Carwin said. “I’ve been able to work on a lot of different aspects of the game and become a more complete fighter.”

Carwin last appeared in March 2009, when he knocked out former title contender Gabriel Gonzaga in 69 seconds at UFC 96. The 35-year-old Colorado-based heavyweight has stopped all 11 of his opponents inside one round, but it was his performance against Gonzaga that caught Mir’s eye.

Mir Buying in Bulk Against Carwin

We shall see if a bigger Mir is indeed a better Mir. It was evident with Kongo, but will it be against Carwin?