Lesnar vs. Mir II

In the first match between these two Heavyweights, Lesnar was dominating Frank Mir, until his inexperience proved disastrous.  Despite pushing Mir around the ring, and bullying him with his size, Lesnar was forced to tap out, giving Frank Mir the victory.

After gaining experience, Lesnar was once again afforded the opportunity to beat the man who gave him his first ever UFC defeat.

Both men entered the match with a simple game plan.  Lesnar hoped to use his superior size and strength to wear Mir down.  He did not want to give the more experienced fighter the opportunity to force another tap out.  Furthermore, Lesnar hoped to use his wrestling prowess to his advantage, by spending most of the time on the ground.  Mir, on the other hand, wanted to keep himself out from underneath the larger and stronger Lesnar.  Because of the difference in size, Mir’s game plan appeared similar to his first match against Lesnar – just stay in the match until Lesnar made a mistake.

Round 1

In the first round, Lesnar’s size proved too much for the smaller Mir.  With most of the round fought on the mat, and with Lesnar on top, it can be said that Lesnar executed his game plan to perfection.  Furthermore, unlike in the first fight, he did not provide Frank Mir with any openings to get a solid grip on either his arms or his legs.  Despite the close proximity of the fighting, Lesnar was able to inflict a lot of damage to Mir’s face with quick but powerful jabs.  By the end of the round, you could see the surprise in Mir’s face – he did not expect Lesnar to be so controlling while on the mat.  Luckily for Mir, the hematoma from a previous fight on his forehead was not reopened.

Round 2

In the second round, Lesnar once again utilized his strength to wrestle Mir to the floor.  Once on the ground, Lesnar again inflicted serious damage to Mir’s face with multiple, short, right-handed jabs to the sides of his face.  For an instant, it appeared Mir was going to escape Lesnar’s grasp; however, Lesnar quickly compensated and forced Mir back to the mat.  Once again, Lesnar held Mir to the ground while he devastated his face.  As Mir was worn down by the bulk of Lesnar, he was pinned against the side and the mat.  With the momentum at his back, Lesnar launched himself at Mir’s face.  The brutality and fierceness of this attack caused the referee to step in and end the match.

With the victory, Lesnar retained the title as Heavyweight champion.  Frank Mir could only watch as Lesnar touted about his victory and how he just “beat [Frank Mir] over the head.”  As the champion, Lesnar appears to be unstoppable.  Despite his inexperience, Lesnar brings incredible strength and athleticism to the octagon.  Lesnar is also one of the greatest wrestlers in the world, as can be seen by his defeat of Mir and his past as an NCAA wrestler.  If Lesnar is able to control his opponents as well as he controlled Frank Mir in this fight, and continue to use his superior strength to his advantage, it will be interesting to see how long he can remain champion.