Post UFC 111: After Losing To Shane Carwin, What's Next For Frank Mir?

In spite of facing an undefeated, powerful Shane Carwin, Frank Mir confidently entered the Octagon on March 27^th, 2010. Before the fight, he admitted to respecting Carwin and not knowing much about him. Nonetheless, Mir was not shy about making it clear that he wanted to bust through Carwin to get his last shot at Lesnar. Alas, his skill was put to the test and Mir was beaten—badly.

So what’s next for Mir? He is without a doubt one of the more talented fighters in the heavyweight division. However, despite demolishing a massive Cheick Kongo, Mir put up little fight against Carwin. The reason he lost was due to the same factor with which he lost to Lesnar in their second meeting and nearly in their first: brute force.

Granted Mir has unparalleled skill and experience on the ground, and although he has proven time after time that he can adequately stand with many tough fighters, he has hit a sort of road block in the UFC. While it is true that Mir put on a decent amount of muscle for his fight against Carwin, he looked as though he maxed out at 265 lbs while walking into the Octagon whereas Carwin still looked more massive despite having weighed in at the same exact weight.

The weakness in Mir’s performance at UFC 111 may have been in being forced to stand and trade with Carwin. True, Carwin has exceptional wrestling ability, but Mir had little offensive ability against Carwin’s brute force. After Mir aggressively sought a clinch, Carwin effortlessly walked Mir into the fence after just as Lesnar had done before, and from there he repeatedly uppercutted Mir into submission on the ground, resulting in yet another first round knockout.

Such a loss should not work to negate Mir’s technical ability. He is a great fighter and as well rounded as one can get. However, in the heavyweight division where nearly all fighters have sound stand up, clinch and ground games, size and force oftentimes become the determining factor for victory as they typically aid any form of offense. The lesson learned from UFC 111 is that Frank Mir is just not powerful enough to handle the biggest fighters in the current UFC heavyweight division: Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar.

Everyone knows that Mir wants to once again be champion after beating Lesnar. However, the likelihood of that happening is slim, but a third bout against Lesnar still might happen if Shane Carwin happens to pull off an impressive ending in a victory against Lesnar. Nevertheless, this would be to promote a grudge match; not for a shot at the title. Plus, since Carwin practically man-handled Mir, it would probably end the same way against an even bigger and possibly more powerful Lesnar.  

As for what should happen next with Mir, he should consider possibly cutting weight to go into the light heavyweight division. This may seem to be a form of anathema to many Mir fans, but the fact of the matter is that Mir ultimately wants the championship. It isn’t so much that Carwin and Lesnar are too massive, but the combination of power, size and wrestling ability seems too much for Mir to be considered for the championship.

We love watching Mir fight, and he should still fight in the UFC as his game is very solid. However, due to his natural size and consequential force being less than that of the behemoths Carwin and Lesnar, Mir would probably find more long term success in the light heavyweight division and would definitely make a great run for the title. Perhaps he will still get a shot at Lesnar, but that day seems far away, and being that the heavyweight title is something that may be ruled by the huge wrestlers in the division for years to come, it might be wise for Mir to either seek fulfillment in the light heavyweight division or not plan on a title run any time soon.