Frank Mir, during his pre-fight media routine, has spoken of his thoughts of moving down in weight class to the Light Heavyweight division. Stating that, after seeing Forrest Griffin being able to walk around at the same weight as himself yet take that size to 205 has made Mir more aware of the possibility. Frank Mir has never been a huge Heavyweight and when he does push the limit of 265, he looks unnatural and bloated so; does this potential drop in lbs. improve his strengths and decline his weaknesses? Is Mir just too small to fight the likes of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin? No and no. Frank Mir's disingenuous approach to conditioning and game planning as well as his inability to react intelligently when getting hit in the face play way more into his recent woefulness than the ill conjured excuse of "Oh, he's is too small for Heavyweight".
First of all, it is common sports’ science that it is more of a detriment to be a 285 pound behemoth and try and maintain a steady pace in any cardiovascular activity. Guys like Lesnar and Carwin do not have athletic doppelgangers in any other sport but Professional Football. These NFL linemen perform anaerobic activity for about 10 seconds then receive almost a minute’s break before the ball is snapped again. They are certainly not pushing and pulling an opponent 5 minutes straight. Packing on weight, whether it’s muscle or fat, exponentially deteriorates your cardio. Who were the “who’s who” of the Heavyweight division at the launch of the new millennium: Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Filipovic, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Randy Couture who all weighed, in their prime, less than 240 lbs. Frank Mir would be entering a whole new class of athletes in joining 205. He is successful because he is able to use his dangerous guard against slower lethargic fighters, whom do not possess the explosiveness needed to stop a well strategized submission from the bottom. Not to be said for Machida, Rashad, Shogun, Griffin etc...Frank Mir has always been one to fold immediately when becoming the landing pad for a well placed fist to the grill.
Did size matter when Brandon Vera thrashed him senselessly in less than 2 minutes while weighing 25 lbs fewer than Mir, or when 5'11 Ian Freeman TKO'd him in the first round 4 years ago? The greatly physically inferior "Pe de Pano" picked up 1 of his 7 wins in 5 years at Mir's expense. What happened when Vera, Lesnar, Carwin, Cruz, and Freeman all put leather on his chin? Fight over. Maybe Mir is a natural 205'er but dropping weight does not buff out the noticeable chinks in his armor. Dropping weight is not the saving grace as many fighter/fans see it. Just ask Brandon Vera, Diego Sanchez, Jens Pulver, Justin McCully, Josh Haynes... So, as two “under sized” Heavyweights square off this Saturday, don’t imagine how they could be if they trickled down a division but how they could be if they fixed the reoccurring errors in their respective games. Mir is a great Heavyweight and deserves to be in big fights but until he starts following a game plan and learns to take a salvo of strikes without wilting, it does not matter what he tips the scales at.
Man, is Cro Cop is completely disinterested in fighting these days or did Frank Mir execute a great game plan?
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