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Saturday, Sep 07, 2013

Opinion: Can Frank Mir Top Alistair Overeem?

Frank Mir

By Michael Hatamoto

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will meet Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem at UFC 167 in November, in what is a ‘must-win’ fight for both fighters.

Mir is a former heavyweight champion, but is riding a three-fight losing streak to Junior dos Santos, Daniel Cormier, and Josh Barnett – and hasn’t won a fight since destroying Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm with a kimura technical submission in December 2011.

Meanwhile, Overeem also will enter the fight with a two-fight losing streak, after being finished by Travis Browne and Antonio Silva, both by knockout. The Dutch kickboxing specialist beat Fabricio Werdum and Brock Lesnar, showing great promise towards being a possible contender in the division, but has not had good success in 2013.

If you asked me a couple of years ago, I would have ventured to guess Mir would win this fight. I believe Mir, working with Greg Jackson’s camp, still hasn’t shown his true potential in the cage – and Overeem has too much power to let Mir hang around for a long time.

However, if Mir can survive the early onslaught, there is a likelihood Overeem could fatigue and get tired, which could be big trouble later in the fight.

It’s a shame Overeem hasn’t had great success in the UFC, because he has been a former K-1 champion, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, and former DREAM interim heavyweight champion throughout his career heading into the UFC.

Both fighters better enter the octagon needing a victory, and if should be an interesting battle to watch for MMA fans.

posted by FCF Staff @ 10:38 pm
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