USA Today reports that Frank Mir will be facing Daniel Cormier at a Strikeforce event this fall. It will be the first time that an existing fighter on the UFC roster will fight on a Strikeforce card.
After their encounter, Mir and Cormier will fight in the UFC Heavyweight division. As usual, the fight will air on Showtime.
Payout Perspective:
It’s an interesting booking decision that should help with the promotion of the Strikeforce event. One would have to think that Mir was asked to do this as it’s unlikely he would voluntarily want to appear on a Strikeforce card. Perhaps a make good for getting the shot at JDS. But, if Mir were to lose, it would put him behind Cormier in the quest to get another shot at JDS
“Perhaps a make good for getting the shot at JDS.”
C’mon, I know it was nice for Mir to get a title shot but he was doing Zuffa a favor in that instance and he owes them nothing.
MV,
My take is that for Mir, heading a SF card seems like a demotion. That’s why I think he was helping Dana out. I’m not implying that there was nothing shady about it. I think it more that Dana asked Mir to do this. Giving him Cormier is no easy task. It wouldn’t be good for his career if Mir is handled by Cormier.
Frank is a smart man and he knows a lot about the fight game. IMO Frank isnt one of the top fighters in the world. He has holes that can be exploited by way to many people in the fight game. At this point in his career he is heavily dependant on the UFC keeping him relevent. He needs the right fight. If you are a good company man and have some credibility like Mir the UFC will make sure you dont get beat 3 times and washed out. Mir knows this. He also knows paydays are getting limited at this stage of his career and the best way to assure to stay on with the UFC after your career as an announcer which he is very good at is taking one for the team. Also there are a lot worse fights out there for Mir. At least he does have some technical and physcial advantages in this fight. If not for this fight odds are th enext guy he got would have smashed him or been someone he could beat that did nothing for him. Of all the guys on a roll and ranked this is his best chance.
There a not a lot of attractive fights for MIr right now in the UFC.
Dos Santos – just lost to him
Vlasquez – UFC keeping him on ice for Dos Santos
Overeem – suspended
Werdum – Hmm, but Werdum is likely in line for title shot after valesquez
Everyon else is below his ranking and he has already beat big nog 2x, Carwin, Nelson, and Kongo.
Plus, I am pretty sure he will cash a nice paycheck for this one.
Cormier by 2nd round KO. I think Cormier’s hand speed and power will make the difference and Mir will not have the slightest chance of getting it to the ground. Mir’s chin is not as good as Barnett’s and he won’t be able to handle Cormier’s surprisingly good striking (he reminds me of Fedor at times in the way he jumps in and lands his strikes).
If they clinch, Cormier will dump Mir on his head, land a few punches on the ground and get back to his feet before Mir has a chance to work submissions.
One round to soften Mir up and a 2nd round finish.
The real winner will be Barnett considering that Cormier will have walked through 2 UFC HWs (Silva and Mir) but could not finish Josh.