Saturday’s UFC 111: The Effects of Frank Mir's Rage
By SJ Jarapa
Hello.
This is a delayed reaction.
But for those who doesn’t know of this incident already, well, basically, weeks ago, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir whipped out a blood-boiling verbal assault, that if you have a weak heart you’d most likely faint with shock, at the ailing current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.
“I will break Brock Lesnar’s neck and make him the first recorded death in the Octagon.”
This was the statement that has had many feelings hurt since. It shocked many people. Really, it did… as if it was something we haven’t heard before. How this bravado is any different from boxing’s “Next time I put him in morgue” jab and K-1’s “I’ll put your fuse out” heated lash or BJ Penn’s infamous “I will kill GSP” declaration, beats the hell out of me. I think some of us are overreacting on what is already a norm in the fight-game.
Frank Mir has from the second he stepped in there been proudly cocky. No doubt he’s said stupid things before, it was only a matter of time that he upped his antics and say something truly ridiculous. Indeed he’s snapped a fighter’s limb before, shattered his bones to many fragments, even worse he’s shown no remorse afterward – a feat which made the statement believable to a degree. But, guess what, and it’s a fact, Frank Mir is a fighter no different from any other fighter who is looking to draw flocks into his fights with words. He simply picked the wrong choice of words in the wrong moment at the wrong time.
It wasn’t so much the context of the statement that made it so unappealing but the manner in which it was said and the fact that it was aimed at someone who is presently fighting for his life.
Really bad timing to try and sound tough.
Was it really that bad, though? Regrettably, unfortunately.
For a sport that went through more hell than any sport on the planet to project an honest image, the statement was not the sort of front it needed to pitch at the public. If he does kill Lesnar in there, may that be accidental or not, all those years of extreme sweat and labor the sport has spent to gain the deference of a disapproving lot will have been for nothing.
How can a veteran fight-fan buy it for a second, though?
Frank Mir kill Brock Lesnar?
It sure seems but a poor attempt at psychological warfare in my eyes – in that, Frank Mir was merely aiming to psyche Brock Lesnar and everyone in his division, this was simply Frank Mir looking to get a message across the pond.
Only, one might suspect that Frank Mir has established so much pressure upon himself with all this fiasco which he himself created that it might cost him something however big or damnatory that is to his well-being in the long run.
How can all this affect him?
Let’s begin with the negative:
For all his talents, sadly, Brock Lesnar is clearly in Frank Mir’s head, and his emotions are without question governed by rage, if in fact, his desire for Lesnar’s death is no nonsense – Brock Lesnar has him absolutely messed up. And that can’t be good, both in and out of the cage. What if someone stops him before he could get his hands on Lesnar? What happens then? Would he flip? That scenario is very likely considering the insanity of the path he’s marching on.
Shane Carwin, the undefeated contender he will be fighting for the interim heavyweight title this Saturday has already expressed his displeasure for what was said and will probably step up to put an end to Mir’s parade. At 255 pounds when fighting, Carwin is a big guy and not just a big guy but that Carwin being big is hereditary in his blood. There is a huge difference between a fighter who tried to bulk up to be big and a fighter who is born to be big. Carwin’s enormous family tree is testament to his size and power. To be colossal is in his genes. Joe Rogan has many times exalted at how Brock Lesnar’s custom made goliathan gloves won’t even fit the size of Brock Lesnar’s fists. With that, no one should ever question why many of Carwin’s wins are off by KO.
Shane Carwin himself is very confident that his bones are larger therefore tougher than everyone else’s for anyone to knock him out. Having won half of his all-stoppage win record with submissions, he is also not a stranger to Jiu-Jitsu, and to make matters worse for Frank Mir, Carwin is in great command of the best weapon out there capable of effectively stifling Frank Mir’s best weapon. Carwin’s wrestling base is a rock Mir will have to contend with. It was Mir’s inability to overcome size and wrestling control that forced him into his current state of mind. If Frank Mir comes in distorted by emotions, he might soon find his psychotic journey towards Lesnar come to an abrupt end.
Now for the positive:
Sure, Shane Carwin’s bone structure, musculature, and all that, may perhaps be naturally bigger, but at 255 pounds he is 10 pounds lighter than what Frank Mir currently carts to the plate. In the current trend of fighting, apart from boxing where a little guy is at the moment pounding the big boys, weight does make a lot of difference. Frank Mir’s drive for revenge, likewise, is so intense that he’s gone to extremes. His newly-developed muscles are meant precisely to match Brock Lesnar’s 265 pounds of fighting mass.
Bulking up with muscles could make a fighter slower, less fluid than normal, however. But if done correctly, it could give his offensive armory a huge boost in effectiveness.
So if Frank Mir’s last fight with Cheick Kongo, who ended up flat in the pavement after eating a perfectly timed punch, was any indication, he’ll be just fine against Carwin. His psychotic impetus, in his case, so far, is a major plus, since he probably sees every fight before Lesnar as practice, a means to better himself, a means to an end – it bequeaths him the indomitable will not to lose. He will refuse to lose no matter what.
Sure, Carwin is a force on the feet and on the ground but he doesn’t possess Mir’s skill, dynamics, and knowledge on both departments.
Sure, Shane Carwin is undefeated but who is the pro?
I see Frank Mir employing distance, while working Carwin’s legs, scoring with punches, in and out of angles. On the ground, I sense him being strong enough to outwork Carwin into submission.
Make no mistake, though, because Shane Carwin can win this too. His power is without question, it is enough to control Mir. His fists are huge enough to put Mir to sleep with a mere glancing blow to the head.
This is a great fight.
But what really makes this match-up interesting is the air it has adopted, with Frank Mir taking on the role of the over-confident anti-hero and Shane Carwin taking on the role of the gallant people’s hero.
The real question here, however, is whether Frank Mir will be stopped or will he go on to get a shot at vengeance in the future?
We will know on Saturday.