Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown

UFC Fight Night 61 will be headlined by a Top 15 heavyweight battle.

No. 8-ranked Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva takes on No. 13-ranked Frank Mir. The two potential contenders are a combined 0-6 with one no-contest in their past seven fights combined. Even with their recent performances, this main event has significant meaning in the division.

Mir is a former heavyweight champion and the greatest submission specialist the division has ever seen. He is on a four-fight skid, but those three losses are all to quality opposition.

Silva is also winless in his last three bouts, and all of those have also been to top-quality opposition. It is a disservice to both heavyweights to write them off at this juncture. However, their hopes and dreams to make a run toward the gold are quickly coming to a close. This is a pivotal bout.

Who has the edge? That is what we will take a look at.

Here is your head-to-toe breakdown for this weekend's main event.

Striking

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This bout is evenly matched in nearly every department, but like always, we will start with stand-up.

Mir has gradually improved his striking throughout his career but has never developed into a great stand-up fighter. He only has three knockout (or TKO) wins in his entire career.

Silva has many more knockouts, 13, but he isn't that much better of a striker. Several of those finishes are due to ground-and-pound.

The biggest difference in this fight is the ability to absorb strikes. Bigfoot does not have an iron chin, but he has proven the ability to eat more powerful strikes than Mir. The former UFC champion has suffered many knockout losses in his career.

Mir's FightMetric stat for striking defense is a mere 37 percent, and he absorbs just over 4 strikes per minute. That is not a recipe for success.

Silva is also a bit more diversified in his attacks, but the defensive advantage is why he has an edge standing.

Edge: Silva

Grappling

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This was the most difficult area to gauge the fight in. Realistically, it's a push, but no one likes a fence-straddler, and I will thus give a slight nod to Mir.

The two jiu-jitsu black belts are good on the mat, but getting the fight there is not exactly their specialty.

The size difference of Silva may be a big advantage in the clinch. Mir has a history of failing against the fence, especially if there is a high pace to the fight. While Bigfoot does have a slight edge in the clinch, it is more from a positional perspective. Taking Mir down from the clinch will prove to be more difficult.

Ultimately, I side with Mir.

Silva has a statistical edge in takedown defense, but his takedown offense is a pitiful 33 percent. Mir is just under 50 percent. Mir also has a speed and athleticism advantage, and that's the difference. If he needs to switch levels, he will be able to in this specific matchup.

It is a pick 'em as to who will get the advantage in the grappling exchanges, but all around, I give Mir the ever-so-slight edge.

Edge: Mir

Submissions

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Where the grappling department was a pick 'em, the submissions are the only clear-cut portion of the fight. It is firmly in favor of Mir.

Mir is the greatest heavyweight submission artist in MMA history. Period. If there was ever any doubt, it was erased when he submitted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Mir has finished with chokes, armlocks and leglocks. Whatever opening there may be, he will exploit. Bigfoot is also a jiu-jitsu black belt, but he is nowhere near the finisher that Mir is. Mir is superior. If Bigfoot is on top, he has to be accurate with his ground-and-pound or else Mir will submit him. He has one of the most active guards in the sport.

The American is also ruthless. If he gets an appendage, he will yank on it until a tap comes or until it breaks.

Edge: Mir

X-Factors

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Mir's X-factor: Striking Defense

As I touched upon earlier, Mir isn't the best at avoiding significant strikes. It will be paramount this Saturday.

Bigfoot is a heavy-handed striker. He isn't the fastest or most technical, but when his big paws land on your face, it has a traumatic effect. Mir cannot afford to take too many.

Mir's head movement has had moments of being good. If he tightens that up, he should be in a good position to outclass Silva.

Silva's X-factor: TRT and Surgery

Mir has also been on TRT, but it was a more prominent part of Silva's backstory. In spite of being cleared to use TRT in 2013, he still failed for elevated levels against Mark Hunt. He is now coming off surgery to remove a tumor that reappeared on his pituitary gland.

It will be interesting to see how Silva looks this weekend after his trials and tribulations. Prior to his surgery, he did not look good against Andrei Arlovski.

Bigfoot is a quality heavyweight and a fascinating fighter, but everything he has been through has had to have a significant effect on his fighting career. Is he going to have a rapid decline? Will the successful surgery put him back on the right path? We'll likely get a better idea with his performance at UFC Fight Night 61.

Prediction

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There are three ways this fight can go: Bigfoot demolishes Mir's chin; Mir submits Bigfoot; it is an atrociously boring main event where the two heavyweights gas out quickly.

All three are viable options.

I'm going with Mir.

It is not often he has the speed and athleticism advantage in a fight, and he will be able to exploit many holes in Silva's game this weekend because of that. He will be able to be more active on his feet against Silva and have the potential to hurt him.

If Mir can get this fight to the mat, preferably in top position, he will finish Silva. This happens early.

Mir will trip Bigfoot to the canvas and lace up a choke in the transition. Silva won't be able to escape. Mir picks up his first win since 2011 with a swift performance in hostile territory.

Prediction: Mir defeats Bigfoot via submission in the first round.

Note: All statistics are provided by FightMetric.