UFC 140 Predictions: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Before Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida square off for the UFC light heavyweight title, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will come face-to-face once again inside the Octagon.

The first meeting between the two took place at UFC 92 and undoubtedly became one of the biggest highlights of Mir's career as he controlled the fight from bell-to-bell and became the first man to stop Nogueira.

Mir would earn a rematch against Brock Lesnar at UFC 100, but couldn't do anything against the much larger opponent. Since that time, Mir has made a commitment to weight lifting and training and looks like a totally different fighter than those days.

Since the loss to Mir, Nogueira has been up and down, alternating wins and losses. "Big Nog" made us believe it really was a staph infection that affected the outcome when he defeated Randy Couture, but then was dropped like a bad habit against future champion Cain Velasquez.

Nogueira bounced back in Rio at UFC 134 against prospect Brendan Schaub and provided fans with one of the most heartwarming moments of 2011 when we saw "Big Nog's" hand raised.

When the two men meet each other again, the bout is likely to look like the first with both men choosing to stand.

Mir is growing more and more confident with his striking as he continues to evolve his MMA game and Nogueira has some of the best boxing credentials in the heavyweight division.

Neither man will be afraid to stand and trade punches which could make this into an interesting kickboxing affair where both men try to win a war of attrition to see who goes for the takedown first.

If the bout does go to the ground, we will be privileged to a display of some of the best grappling we are likely to see this year.

Both men are highly respectable black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a ground battle between Mir and Nogueira would be an interesting cat-and-mouse game.

As much as most fans will want to see Nogueira's hand raised, I don't believe "Big Nog" can win at UFC 140.

Mir has only gotten better and looked to evolve his game more since their first clash and if he can survive an initial flurry against Nogueira, he will walk out of Canada a winner.

Prediction: Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via TKO (Round 3).

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