Main Entry: ven·geance; Pronunciation: \ˈven-jən(t)s\; Function: noun; Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from venger to avenge, from Latin vindicare; to lay claim to, avenge.
Mir won the first match between the two with one of the greatest knee-bar submissions ever witnessed in the UFC, and what made the Lesnar victory that much sweeter was the fact that it was performed upon a seemingly super-human, 265-pound ex-wrestler.
A man who not only resembles a bruin but also possesses the size, strength, and fury of a 500-pound grizzly bear. Add to that the post-fight admission from Lesnar's losing opponents that he is not only all of the above but also surprisingly fast for his size, and you have a veritable monster.
These aforementioned attributes most certainly add up to a formidable heavyweight challenge to any foe, to say the least. Thus, for Mir, the rematch with Lesnar didn't go as well as planned.
Mir, the BJJ black belt, was smothered, mauled, and thoroughly dominated in an area of expertise where he should have had the advantage—on his back, in the guard position.
Lesnar won the fight, then rubbed Mir's nose in it.
In a mock southern accent, he gloated, bragged, and stammered his way through the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
It was more or less an adrenaline-laced tirade concerning beer, anuses, and horseshoes, and he came off looking like a fighter who had just won an award for the world's most unsportsmanlike athlete instead of a newly crowned UFC champion.
So Mir wants his vengeance in the worst way, but "first thing's first," Mir needs to get past Kongo, who is an amazingly conditioned athlete, but, perhaps luckily for Mir, he is a kick-boxer with very little experience in submissions.
Yet, it's this writer's opinion that he does possess the size, power, and certainly the reach advantage to give Mir trouble should Mir get cocky and try to keep the fight standing.
The outcome of this December matchup may potentially precede a third battle against Lesnar, or there may be a new champion by that time named Shane Carwin.
Mir, in the video, decides to take a test drive in a bright yellow Lamborghini, and he jokingly refers to Kongo as a great "groin striker," saying he plans to wear "family jewel protection" with a spike implanted in the surface, just in case.
Whatever the future may hold for Mir, there's one thing we know for sure: He is a highly disciplined submissions expert with no shortage on heart and courage.
He was able to cheat death from a devastating motorcycle accident, get back on his feet, and achieve his personal goal by regaining part of his past championship, the interim heavyweight title.
Mir is also a very talented cage-side commentator for the World Extreme Combat promotion, and I was thoroughly impressed with the detailed job he did during their latest event.
Mir took the time to explain each submission transition in detail, which is appreciated by laymen such as me who have no formal training in regard to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu side of MMA.
We sportswriters, most times, try to be as unbiased as possible, but I will admit that I've been a fan of Mir since watching his amazing standing arm-bar submission over Tim Sylvia at UFC 48, a move that visually snapped the large bone in Sylvia's forearm.
Sylvia, another huge fighter at 6'8", 250 pounds, was not unlike Lesnar, also a dominant UFC champion at the time, but had been recently stripped of the title for failing a drug test.
This was the first evidence that Mir was nobody to mess with from the BJJ guard position, and if it weren't for his career being interrupted by a potentially crippling event, he would have undoubtedly been a dominant champion even back then.
To borrow a line from the greatest heavyweight boxer who ever lived, Muhammad Ali, "Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision."
Champions such as Mir possess rare human qualities, such as honor, integrity, courage, and a tremendous amount of pride.
Mir is understandably proud of his accomplishments so far, and, from watching his fights throughout his career, it's evident to this writer that Mir not only believes he is a winner and a survivor, he has also proven it, and lived through it.
And, who knows, if he beats Kongo impressively, he may have a another title shot awaiting him around the bend, a rubber-match of sorts between him and the behemoth Lesnar, or perhaps Mir will face off against the new heavyweight champion Carwin.
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