Frank Mir vs. Daniel Cormier: Head-to-Toe Breakdown

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Daniel Cormier has his final Strikeforce fight, and it will not be against Tim Sylvia. It will be against the man who broke his arm to take his title.

That's right, Frank Mir will be moving to the Strikeforce cage to square off against the World Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion, Daniel Cormier.

This fight is very interesting and will answer the questions that some people have about Cormier being a top-five heavyweight because Mir provides a step up in competition from Josh Barnett.

The winner will immediately put himself in title contention.

Let's see an early breakdown on who has the edge.

Striking

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Both fighters are top heavyweights, but their hands are not what got them there.

Each fighter has had some high-level knockouts. Mir has KO'd such fighters as Minotauro Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop, while Cormier has knocked out Antonio Silva.

It should be even in the striking department.

Edge: Push

Grappling

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Frank Mir is a very good grappler in his own right, but Daniel Cormier was an Olympian and was going to be the captain of the wrestling team in 2008.

Not many people are on his level when it comes to grappling. Mir should be able to hold his own, but Cormier will definitely have an edge.

Edge: Cormier

Submissions

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Daniel Cormier is the better wrestler, but Frank Mir—without a doubt—has the better submissions.

Mir has 16 wins and has submitted nine of his opponents, eight of those coming in the UFC.

Cormier has 10 wins, three submissions, one of which came from a submission hold, but had none in Strikeforce.

Edge: Mir

Strength and Conditioning

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Frank Mir will be the larger of the two when this fight goes down. For Cormier's last fight, he weighed in at 238, while Mir weighed in at 261 for his last fight.

That being said, Mir should have a strength advantage over Cormier.

As far as cardio, it should be fairly even, with Cormier possibly having an edge.

As a whole, Mir has a more distinctive edge and gets the overall edge for this category.

Edge: Mir

Variables

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Mir

Mir is coming off a loss at UFC 146, where he was knocked out in the second round by Junior dos Santos with the heavyweight title on the line. He saw that his options to get back in title contention in the UFC were limited and agreed to face Cormier in Strikeforce.

He has a chance to put his name right back up there in line for a title shot, but could also suffer a second-straight loss, which would leave him out of title range possibly for the rest of his career.

 

Cormier

Cormier is set for the biggest test of his career. Josh Barnett was a good opponent, but his legitimacy as a top-10 heavyweight was questioned by some. Mir is undoubtedly a top-five heavyweight and gives Cormier a chance to cement himself as a serious threat.

Winner

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Truth be told, I do not believe Daniel Cormier is a top-five fighter, but I do think he will beat Frank Mir and move himself well into the top five.

I believe that Cormier will be able to take Mir down and control him on the ground. Cormier will prepare to deal with a fighter nearly 30 pounds larger than him and will be prepared for Mir's submissions on bottom.

There's always a chance that Mir catches Cormier in something or reverses him and pulls something off, but I expect Cormier to walk away with the decision.

Winner: Daniel Cormier by unanimous decision