“Is Bigfoot Silva’s foot big enough to stomp out Frank Mir once and for all”? We’ll soon find out, the two are slated to face each other at UFC Fight Night 61, February 22, 2015.
Frank Mir is the former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, however he might be remembered more for some of his more notable wins which just happen to have his opponents getting their limbs broken. Mir became the Heavyweight Champion when he beat Tim Silvia, in a fight which resulted in Silvia getting his arm broken in four places. Another such victory comes in the form a broken arm, given to Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuria, who could have avoided this gift, if he would have tapped out, (but let’s face it, he is a Nogeuria, did you really expect him to tap?). When Mir is going for the submission, if he gets hold of something and his opponent doesn’t tap or it takes too long, someone is probably going to end up with something broken.
Mir holds UFC records for most victories and most submissions in the Heavyweight division. Mir first won the belt in a fight against Tim Silvia in June 2004, however in September 2004, he was injured when his motorcycle was struck by a car, leaving the champion with a broken femur as well as ligament damage in his knee. While he was out with injury, Andrei Arlovski won an interim belt. When Mir was unable to face Arlovski in a scheduled bout, the full championship was awarded to Arlovski.
Since losing his belt in 2004, Frank has won fights against Antoni Hardonk in 2007, Brock Lesner and Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuria in 2008. He has however suffered quite a few losses recent losses which include Shane Carwin, Junior Dos Santos, Josh Barnett, Daniel Cormier and Alistair Overeem.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva is a Heavyweight Champion for several organizations outside of the UFC. He was the EliteXC Heavyweight Champion, Cage Rage World Heavyweight Champion and the Cage Warrior Super Heavyweight Champion. Bigfoot Silva is no stranger to what it takes to be a champion, he is in pursuit of the UFC Gold and the title of UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Silva has notable wins over Tengzi Tedoradze in his debut in Cage Rage, he has defeated Tom Erikson and Wesley Corrieira in 2007. Silva is not without his own medical issues. In February 2007 he underwent brain surgery to have a tumor removed, he returned to the ring in November of 2007 to face Jonathan Wiezoreck winning by Rear Naked Choke. Fast forward to the UFC, in 2012 he lost to Cain Velasquez, won against Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem before losing again to Cain Velasquez for the Heavyweight title at UFC 160. Bigfoot Silva had a great, brutal battle with Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 33 in December 2013 where the match was scored a draw, but the real surprise what after the fight when Bigfoot failed a post-fight drug test causing him to lose his fight of the night bonus to his opponent, which brought into question his previous victories in the minds of some fans.
UFC Fight Night 61 Silva vs. Mir. Mir has the definite advantage if this fight goes to the ground, however I think Silva is a little more of a well-rounded fighter. Both fighters have had issues with cardio in the past, so it will be interesting to see what strategy they implement and to actually see where their games have improved since last seeing them in the Octagon. These two heavyweights bring knockout power to the Octagon and Mir stands 6’3” and weighs 257lbs where Silva stands 6’4” and weighs 262 lbs.
Both fighters have had stellar MMA careers with notable wins and some surprising losses. I would love to see Frank Mir get the win however, I honestly don’t know if he has anything left. I feel Mir has more to prove, especially with his success rate after the accident not being what he or his fans have hoped for. It seems like he can’t seem to implement his game plan or stick to it. While I am always going to be a huge Frank Mir fan, I think it may be time to leave the fighting behind and explore his options outside of the ring.
When Bigfoot Silva came to the UFC many had doubts about him, I thought he might be overwhelmed and not succeed in the “Big Show”. Silva has fought so hard and has shown constant improvement in his fights, especially with his display of tremendous heart in his battle against Mark Hunt, it really looks like he may just now be finding his real place in the UFC.
UFC Fight Night 61 will also feature Edson Barbosa taking on Michael Johnson along with Jessica Andrade going against Marion Reneau these fights as well as the entire fight card should produce some great battles.
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