By MATT MOLGAARD
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

Mir/CroCop, And The Relevance It Possesses

A quick glimpse at the scheduled September 25th bout between Frank Mir and Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic tells you it’s do or die for Crocop. A thorough breakdown of the clash however leads me to contemplate a series of other possibilities. It goes without saying that should Mirko lose this fight, his chances at another marquee match up (save for perhaps a long awaited rematch with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, or fading legend Randy Couture) are all but dead in the wind. However what many aren’t considering is this: what if Frank Mir loses?

Mir’s dropped two of his last three bouts, both ending in devastating fashion. He’s proven he can topple just about any mid tier fighter Joe Silva can toss at him, and he’s likely to dispose of the few former fading champions lingering. But beyond that, he hasn’t put forth an awe inspiring performance since toppling the ghost of Big Nog nearly two years ago. None of this, keep in mind, is to belittle Mir or his abilities; Mir’s had moments of brilliance since his rededication to the sport, and Kongo and Hardonk are both tough guys, but they’re not elite. Defeating Brock Lesnar via submission after having his face pounded in for a minute straight was impressive, but let’s be honest with ourselves, at that point Lesnar was as green as the jungles he loves to hunt in.

It seems, after finally regaining his momentum post motorcycle accident, that Frank Mir has found himself in somewhat of a (potential) gatekeeper position despite marked improvements, similar in fact to the once red-hot Gabriel Gonzaga. Perhaps that’s the clash we should be witnessing at UFC 119.