At his best, how good is Frank Mir? How good can he be?

1) Hard to say, Carwin's a gnp beast (Brock fight notwithstanding) and thats Franks main stylistic weakness imo
2)Decent combos, it's definately developing. Good power, but still relatively slow and poor footwork.But a shot Nog and Cro Cop are different propositions to a JDS or AO. I dont think his defence is any good tbh on the feet and on the ground
3) Offensively great, can snap a limb in seconds. But needs his opponent to make a mistake first (Sylvia, Brock 1) otherwise he's ****ed (Brock 2, Carwin, Freeman) Same could be said for his stand up, Nogs reaction times, Kongos arrogance, and Cro Cop rushing in blocking knees with his chin
4) Id rate him about 7 out of 10. My reasons are pretty clear form the above
5)Id say yes, still to fresh for Nog at this point. I think Nog will try and get it to the ground ASAP maybe in the last match he thought he'd take Franks best shots better. But a combo of the punishment Nogs taken in the past and Franks improved stand up proved decisive
6 & 7) no they are both too big and strong. Anything could happen but I think it would go the same as the last 2 bouts

 

1.Is Frank approaching his peak, or past his peak now?
Neither, he is like Randy Couture in that his peak isn't one defined time, he is better at certain things now, but possibly not as good at others as he was before, also chins only get worse with time, and he has taken some knocks. Which one would be better is a question of style.

2.How good is Frank's stand-up now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?
I would say he is as good as the best of the rest; there are the best strikers in the division, Junior Dos Santos having the best of the legit contenters and a few others specialized strikers.

He has pretty solid technique, but maybe not the best instincts; if he were to try to strictly strike with JDS he would get KO'd, but he probably has the ability to be comfortable striking to get to the takedown. He has knocked out Nog and CroCop, and dropped Kongo to set up the finish.

3.How good is Frank's bjj now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?
As good or better offensively, he has the ability to sub everybody, not just in the UFC, anybody in the world. Defensively he takes some shots and goes into a shell at the worst of times, although at other times he has shown a remarkable calm.


4.How good is Frank's all-round game now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?
He lacks the wrestling of the wrestlers, which is going to be a huge hindrance to winning the title, as Cain, Carwin, and Lesnar are all top of the division. However, his ground game and striking could make up for it, as he is very good of his back.

5.Would Frank knock out Big Nog again in a rematch?
If not knock him out, beat him.

6.Is Frank good enough to compete with Brock in a trilogy decider?
Very hard fight for him, but again, he can sub anybody. I would make Lesnar the favorite.

7.Is Frank good enough to compete with Carwin in a rematch?
Yes, the mistakes he made can be corrected. I would make Mir the favorite or make the fight a pick em.

 

All that needs to be said about mir is that hes capable of beating anyone on his day.

 

1. Tough question to answer. I think you argue that he is atleast around his peak. I think Frank is in better mental and phyiscal condition then he was 6 years ago when he briefly the UFC Heavyweight Champion. Id also say Frank is a more well rounded fighter in those days all he had was submissions now hes good pretty good standup.

2. Frank has really good striking at this point. Nogueira may be well past it but that was he 1st time anyone had actually finished Nog and Frank looked very fluid with his punches that night. The big left hand on Kongo was also a very impressive shot. You can watch Frank and see how he is light on his feet, moves his head more now, throws combos in a fluid fashion and tell that hes worked on his striking alot and its showing in his fights. Id say hes behind Junior Dos Santos cleary but its pretty close after that.

3. Frank has great Jiujitsu especially his guard but I think he does have some areas that hes not so elite in like his wrestling and his half guard game. In the UFC id say Nogueira has a better ground game then id probably say Gonzaga followed by Mir.

4. Frank no mistake about it is well rounded but I dont think hes THAT well rounded. Really good striking but his wrestling skills are medicore. Great guard but if you get to half hes easy to pound out its happened numerous times. Id say hes as well rounded as Brock or Carwin but he lacks the strength agianst those guys IMO. Hard to say what JDS ground game is like, Cain seems great in all areas at this point. Tough call.

5. For sure whats changed since then ? Nogueira has suffered an even quicker KO to Cain Velasquez in that time, suffered more injuries and lots more wear and tear while Mir is still improving his standup and scoring KOs. Mir couldnt miss Nogueira's chin and Nogueira's ass couldnt avoid the ground in 2008. If they fight on the feet for any real length of time IMO a KO cant be avoided.

6. I think he is it just obviously will be very difficult. Seeing what I saw in those brief standup exchanges in the rematch and fights following id say Frank could pick apart Brock on his feet and possibly knock him out. If they hit the ground I think the key for Frank is having full guard he is just at such a disadvantage with a big, strong, GNP machine wrestler like Brock sitting on that leg and pounding his face in. Id favor Lesnar in a rematch as although I think Frank is the better fight, Lesnar's strength and size is alot for Mir to overcome so I feel like his margin for error is very small.

7. Yes he can Frank Mir is talented enough to beat any fighter on any given night but I doubt he would win a rematch. Carwin is just too big, too strong, too powerful and downright brutal for Mir. Wherever the fight takes place Carwin is hitting Frank harder then he has ever been hit in his entire career and IMO Carwin will finish him 9 times out of 10 fights.

 

id pay to see mir fight any of the top guys as there is always the sniff of a huge upset with frank....as another poster said, he CAN beat anyone on his night....its just that we cant predict when that night is....been a mir fan for years and its a rocky road haha

 

1.Is Frank approaching his peak, or past his peak now?
Frank hasn't really got a peak. He's had a very erratic and inconsistent career. In truth he was physically better when he was younger but like Lennox his experience and smarts have seen him continue to do well and evolve as a fighter.

2.How good is Frank's stand-up now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?
No one at heavyweight is really that good of a striker. The ones that are, like JDS, would do serious damager to him. The ones that aren't or have mental issues he could beat. Franks a good technical striker but isn't particularly fast, doesn't have the chin to go in wrecklessly etc

3.How good is Frank's bjj now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?
Franks a big guy. He doesn't move amazingly. He can look fleet of foot and nimble in grappling but in a real situation he isn't actually a great mover. He isn't a sweeping, transitioning maestro. If he locks a sub though, call it a night.

4.How good is Frank's all-round game now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?
Franks a jack of all trades, even grappling which should be his strong suit. He is a logical fighter who has overcome the fact he doesn't do very much amazingly. He is talented but he isn't Brock or Tyson. Another fighter would walk in on CC and get caught big. Mir is almost like a poor mans Couture.

5.Would Frank knock out Big Nog again in a rematch?
Yes.

6.Is Frank good enough to compete with Brock in a trilogy decider?
Unfortunately not. He'll freeze as soon as he is in a bad position.

7.Is Frank good enough to compete with Carwin in a rematch?
Unfortunately not. He'll freeze as soon as he is in a bad position.

 

I think Mir is to BJJ what Wanderlei was to MT, not technically perfect and prone to leaving openings but very good at suddenly and ruthlessly exploiting mistakes.

Standup wise he has good power but I'd say itsnt on the level of JDS, Overeem, Fedor etc technically .

In terms of skillset Mir's does have the potential to be top 5 but his ability to deal with pressure is always likely to be a weakness for me. Fights like Mirko and Nog are perfect for him and nither of them put any pressure on him however the guys who've risen to the top of the HW tree in recent years are almost uniformly very aggresive(moreso than any other division IMHO) which is bad news for him.

Mir is very like AA if you ask me, I don't think his chin is actually that bad at all but he tends to make mistakes and gets hit with big shots or sustained GnP pretty often as a result.

 

1.Is Frank approaching his peak, or past his peak now?

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2.How good is Frank's stand-up now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?

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3.How good is Frank's bjj now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?

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4.How good is Frank's all-round game now, compared to the best in the UFC hw division?

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5.Would Frank knock out Big Nog again in a rematch?

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6.Is Frank good enough to compete with Brock in a trilogy decider?

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7.Is Frank good enough to compete with Carwin in a rematch?

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