Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir at UFC 81

by Robert Sargent

After recently signing with the UFC, former professional wrestler and football player Brock Lesnar (1-0 MMA) will make his UFC debut - in just his second MMA fight - against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir (10-3).

Lesnar, who compiled a 106-5 amateur wrestling record before becoming a star in professional wrestling in the WWE, will return to MMA in a battle with Mir, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, at UFC 81 on February 2nd, 2008.


After mauling Min Soo Kim in a 69-second victory at K-1 HERO's Dynamite! in June of this year, Lesnar steps right into the bright lights of the UFC in a fight that could very well prove disastrous to his burgeoning career. At the same time, Mir, who is coming off of a victory at UFC 74 against Antoni Hardonk, is looking to once again make a name for himself as a top heavyweight contender in the UFC, after a serious motorcycle crash on September 17th, 2004, forced him to relinquish his title.

Lesnar is best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he competed as a professional wrestler and held the company's world title until he left the promotion to train in the National Football League. He has trained in MMA for two years and believes that he belongs in the UFC.

Mir is perhaps best known for his UFC Heavyweight title fight against Tim Sylvia in June of 2004, in which Mir won in 50 seconds after snapping Sylvia's arm with an armbar. However, the motorcycle accident kept Mir from fighting until February 2006, where he lost to Marcio Cruz in the first round by TKO at UFC 57. Since then, Mir has won two of three fights, with the defeat coming at the hands of Brandon Vera, also by first-round TKO.

It is fair to say that the hype surrounding this just-announced fight is largely based off of Lesnar's past accomplishments and reputation, and Mir's comeback story in the UFC after his accident, but this fight has all of the makings to be one of the most explosive and exciting battles in the UFC in quite some time.

Lesnar will no doubt attempt to take Mir down immediately, where he can maul him with strikes, as he did to Min Soo Kim. Mir, however, is a master of armbars and will not be rattled easily. If Lesnar does not train extensively in submission defence - especially in defending armbars when he has top position on Mir - Lesnar's UFC debut could end quickly, with former champion Mir as the victor.

If Lesnar can land enough strikes to Mir's head and face, before Mir can lock in any submissions, it is likely that Lesnar will obtain his second MMA victory in short fashion. Mir has been susceptible to TKOs from strikes before. For Mir, he was able to snap Tim Sylvia's arm, and Lesnar won't be much larger in the forearms than Sylvia was in 2004, so his best chance is likely to try for an armbar as soon as possible after Lesnar inevitably takes him down.

Regardless, it should be a very exciting fight, for as long as it lasts. Don't count on it making it out of the first round.