UFC 119
Prior to entering the UFC, Mirko’s famous saying “Right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery,” was enough to send fear down the spine of his opponents. Unfortunately, you’d have to go all the way back to his fight against Wanderlei Silva for that quote to be relevant. It’s hard to ignore the fact the Mirko has seemingly lost a step since his devastating KO loss to Gonzaga, even looking gun shy at times.
To the untrained eye, his recent record of 4-2 in his last 6 fights would suggest a revival, but the truth is the recent competition has been relatively meager. His only notable victory is against Pat Barry. Not only are his training habits being called into question, but also his current health status.
With all that said, we still have to assume Mirko is a dangerous opponent. One of the biggest unknowns going into this fight is whether or not Frank Mir can take him down. Even though he has shown some improvements in his takedown defense since he fought Brock Lesnar, he’s never really been known as a takedown artist. Mir has the stand-up ability to hang for 3 rounds, but that certainly isn’t his ideal path to victory.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to put much faith in either fighter. Mir has wilted under pressure too many times. As doubtful as it may be, if Mirko comes out looking to force the action and really lets his hands go early, he very well could earn a TKO victory.