By MATT MOLGAARD
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

Just days ago Frank Mir shared his thoughts on UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, noting that he believed to be faster, and obviously, far superior on the mat (among a few other quips). Today dos Santos is breaking his silence, offering a solid retort to Mir’s claims.

Speaking with USA Today, the champ broke down his assessment of the stylistic matchup, and his thoughts on Frank Mir and his general performances.

"He previously said that he was faster than me. That's only in his dreams. Mir's boxing is reasonable. It's OK. He takes advantage sometimes, just from the fact that he's left-handed, but he's really just pretty average with his boxing. All heavyweights hit hard. But compared to other heavyweights, compared to me, compared to my boxing — I'm faster than him; I hit harder than him; and I'm better technically. I think when Mir's in a good spot in the fight — when he's in a good moment and in a good position — he's very dangerous. But Mir doesn't really know to get through rough spots in a bout. When he gets in those rough spots, his courage goes out the window; his aggression goes out the window. What happened against Nogueira in his last fight was really an anomaly, because Mir got caught standing up. He got caught. He was ready to go down, ready to go out; and he was able to get through that and come back. That never happens in Mir's fights. Usually when Mir gets into a little bit of trouble during a fight, he can't come back from it."

Dos Santos will obviously aim to put Mir in plenty of trouble with his heavy hands, and should Mir fail in taking this fight down it could be a brief night for the former champion. On the other hand, Mir may show up hell bent on proving he can handle adversity, and should this fight turn into a grappling contest, we'll see the champion tested in foreign territory.

We’ll find out what fate holds in store on May 26th, when these two tangle in the main event of UFC 146.

Leave your feedback on this article by posting a comment directly below! You can also chat about the card in the MMANEWS.COM Forums and/or the MMANEWS.COM Facebook. If that wasn't enough, MMANEWS.COM is now on Twitter as well @mmanewsdotcom.