No specifics in terms of location/date for the bout were mentioned.

Mir has picked up three straight wins since losing to Shane Carwin a little less than two years ago with the trio all coming in convincing fashion. The 16-5 Las Vegas native was last seen snapping Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm in their co-headlining clash at UFC 140 in December.

While Velasquez does not have the momentum of Mir’s winning streak, having lost the UFC belt to champ Junior dos Santos in November, he emerged with his hand raised in nine straight prior to the stumble including victories over Nogueira, Cheick Kongo, and Brock Lesnar.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Werdum earned a decision on all three judges’ scorecards Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit, ending a short one-fight losing skid suffered at the hands of Alistair Overeem in Strikeforce. For Werdum, the bout marked the beginning of his second stint in the UFC. The first ended when current UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos knocked him out. Werdum left the company and signed with Strikeforce so that he could face Fedor Emelianenko, eventually defeating  the iconic Russian, earning him a place in MMA history as the first fighter to legitimate finish Emelianenko.

“I hope I can fight in June in Brazil. I get there (Monday) to be part of (TUF Brasil), but I won’t stop training, even because the whole team will be together there,” said Werdum, in a recent interview with TATAME, on what he hopes is next for him. “God bless me, the UFC will give me the chance to bring this joy to people in Brazil.”

Werdum has no planned opponent lined up, but rumors of a possible match with Frank Mir to excite him. “If it’s Frank Mir, excellent. If it’s not, it’s okay. I just wanna show I’m in the Top 10 of the division.”

The UFC is planning a card for this summer from Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a UFC middleweight championship bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen likely filling the main event spot. A Dos Santos-Overeem fight has also been rumored for the lineup.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Thanks to the addition of Strikeforce under the Zuffa banner, and the decision to include Strikeforce’s heavyweight division in the UFC in 2012, Mir will no longer have to dream about becoming the best in the world.

Mir, who recently defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the second time in his career, is excited about seeing the likes of Josh Barnett, Daniel Cormier, and Fabricio Werdum inside the Octagon.

“I think it’s only a benefit to move them over to us. I guess I have a bad taste in my mouth because of what happened when I first started my career. I had to always hear about, ‘Oh, you guys are good, but the PRIDE guys would kick your butt.’ And then that frustration of not being able to get to them,” said Mir, in an interview with ESPN’s MMA Insiders radio station. “I don’t want to hear that (who’s the best discussion anymore). I want to know that anybody in the division…’you think that you can beat me? Hey, Joe Silva, is he clear? Okay, cool, let’s fight.”

Mir has held both undisputed and interim championships. The Las Vegas native has won three straight fights since a loss to Shane Carwin back in 2010 including his “Submission of the Year” finish of “Minotauro” at UFC 140.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Mir recently spoke about Lesnar where he revealed his harsh words for the former UFC heavyweight champ, including his desire to break Lesnar’s neck and see him die of Octagon-related injuries, were little more than an attempt at hype.

“In reality, I played that up because at that time in my life I thought being loud and saying those things would be good marketing for a third fight,” Mir admitted in a conversation with ESPN. “In the last couple years I’ve realized, if people are going to dislike me, I want it to be because of my personality and not because of something I did for marketing a fight.”

In fact, Mir even went on record saying he felt Lesnar would handle Dutch finisher Alistair Overeem with ease when they lock horns at UFC 141.

“I think we’re going to see the closest thing to a grappler versus striker match you’ll see nowadays,” said Mir on the subject. “Brock is going to cover up; maybe throw one jab. He’ll rush Overeem to the cage, reach down for a leg and rip him down. I don’t think he’s going to get off his back. I’d be very shocked – I’d applaud Overeem if he got off his back.”

Given the hulking Minnesotan’s wrestling credentials and brute strength it’s hard to disagree with Mir’s assessment of the situation, though Lesnar has been out for a year while recovering from medical issues and few heavyweights have been as hot as Overeem over the past few years.

As for Mir, up next is a rematch with a man who knows a thing or two about grappling – Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The two fan-friendly foes will face off on December 10 in Toronto at UFC 140, a date giving Mir plenty of time to heal up and see if his prediction comes true three weeks later.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

UFC officials confirmed the bout on UFC.com

Arguably the greatest heavyweight grappler of all-time, Nogueira returned to the cage this past August after an 18 month layoff that included hip and knee surgery against up-and-comer Brendan Schaub. It was the first time Nogueira fought in his home country of Brazil, and he didn’t disappoint the native crowd, knocking out Schaub in the first round to earn “Knockout of the Night” honors. One of the most decorated fighters in MMA history, Nogueira is the only man to hold both the PRIDE and UFC heavyweight belts and has defeated the likes of Randy Couture, Mirko Cro Cop, Josh Barnett, and Dan Henderson.

A former UFC heavyweight champion himself, Mir has won six of his last eight fights and most recently defeated Roy Nelson at UFC 130. Known for his jiu-jitsu, Mir has been doing more striking as of late. He knocked out Cro Cop with a huge knee at UFC 119 and dropped Cheick Kongo with a left hand in their bout at UFC 107. Mir will no doubt be looking to prove that his victory over Nogueira in 2008 had nothing to do with the Brazilians condition.

UFC 140 is scheduled for December 10 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. Also on the card is a welterweight fight between hot prospect Rory MacDonald and veteran Brian Ebersole.

Then again, if it were up to Nogueira, there’d apparently only be one – Frank Mir.

Mir and Nogueira originally met in December 2008 where the outspoken Las Vegas native went on to become the first man to ever finish “Minotauro”. Though a rematch was scheduled for UFC 119, Nogueira was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a series of injuries ultimately sidelining him until his appearance last weekend in Rio de Janeiro.

“I’d like to fight Mir, I want to fight UFC Japan. I’d like to fight UFC Canada, which will happen later this year. Fighting Mir is something I’d love to do. I’m motivated to fight him,” the PRIDE icon explained in a recent conversation with Tatame.

His interest in facing the former UFC heavyweight champ was echoed in an interview with MMAFighting where the 35-year old offered similar thoughts on Mir, saying, “You know, I lost the (first) fight. He’s a tough opponent. He’s a good guy. I’d like to fight him.”

With Mir’s calendar currently clear and Nogueira escaping UFC 134 without any real damage, not to mention the UFC’s plans to visit Toronto in December and rumors of a February 2012 card in Japan, he may just get his wish. And, if his showing in Brazil was indicative of what a healthy version of “Minotauro” can do, things should clearly unfold quite differently than they did three years back.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the potential match-up and attached event were first reported by BetUS.

Mir (14-5) is coming off a late knockout of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic after landing a flush knee against the striking legend last September at UFC 119. He is 5-2 since 2007 with wins over Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, and Cheick Kongo in the bunch as well as defeats to Lesnar and Shane Carwin.

Comparably, his rotund rival has gone 1-1 since walking away with the title of Ultimate Fighter Season 10 champ as a result of his first-round flooring of Brendan Schaub in December 2009. The 15-5 Nelson followed the win up with a thirty-nine second knockout of Stefan Struve but was outpointed by top title-contender Junior Dos Santos in his follow-up performance this past August. He had originally been linked to a bout with Carwin at UFC 125 but the match-up fell apart due to Carwin being injured.

News of the potential scrap was reported by MMAJunkie who confirmed the bout had been offered to both camps and verbal agreements were in place.

While the UFC has not officially announced any events for March, February’s cards are set at this point in terms of major match-ups meaning the following month is a far more likely option. Two shows currently rumored for the involved timeframe are “UFC on Versus 3” (3/3) and UFC 129 (3/19 in Abu Dhabi).

The 27-year old Schaub is 7-1 in his career with six knockouts in the opening frame of action. His only loss came at the Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale against Roy “Big Country” Nelson in the form of a first-round knockout though he has won three consecutive fights since the December 2009 defeat.

Rashad Evans Responds to Claims He’s Unhappy in the UFC (WatchKalibRun.com)

Fedor Emelianenko Trains with “Jacare” and Mousasi (MMAScraps.com)

Former Strikeforce Fighter May Be Headed to Ultimate Fighter (CagePotato.com)

WEC President Speaks about Merger with UFC (HeavyMMA.com)

Alan Belcher Wants Fight with Wanderlei Silva (MMAFighting.com)

Frank Mir Prefers Opponent Other than Lesnar (MMAConvert.com)

Chad Mendes Speaks About WEC 52 Opponent Javier Vazquez (Versus.com)

Tatsuya Kawahiri Shoots Some Hoops…from a Wheelchair (MiddleEasy.com)

What’s Coming Up in December? (FIGHT! Magazine)

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

Happy Halloween Weekend, and welcome to “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s regular weekly feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column.

How would you assess the fallout from Eddie Alvarez’s dominating win over Roger Huerta last week at Bellator 33?

Tool: If anything Alvarez’s thorough beat down on Huerta just proved how desperate for real competition Alvarez is right now. Whether that competition comes in the form a showdown with Gilbert Melendez or a potential entrance into the UFC, the fact is that Bellator’s roster has little to offer Alvarez in the way of fresh challenges. Huerta’s stock has dropped in recent years but we can’t forget that he was right on the cusp of contendership in the UFC at one point. The fight between these two was great from the standpoint of Bellator building up their lightweight champion, but now that their two biggest lightweight stars have fought what’s left? Is there any reason to think that Pat Curran will fare any better when he gets his shot at Alvarez?

Conlan: I see Tool’s point about the scarceness of challenges left for the lightweight champ within Bellator, though in fairness it needs to be pointed out that Curran did beat Huerta and should be a more competitive foe for Alvarez from that standpoint alone. Someone with Curran’s improving skill-set should never be discounted, especially in a sport like MMA where upsets are far from rare.

Since Adam’s response focused mostly on Alvarez I’m going to concentrate on Huerta’s future in the wake of suffering the first TKO loss of his career. I think the bout’s timing may have influenced the result to a certain extent, as I suspect Huerta’s confidence wasn’t where it would have been had he been coming off a few wins before facing Alvarez rather than losses in three of his last four fights. On top of that, he dealt with the publicity surrounding his “street fight” earlier this year which could have affected his training or mentality entering arguably the biggest scrap of his career. Preparing for an opponent like Alvarez – even a notch below the Philadelphian – requires 100% of a Mixed Martial Artist’s focus and being unable to give in wholly to the process essentially equates to a loss no matter who you may be.

To that point, Huerta’s physique also looked a bit smaller than usual at the event. I won’t speculate on whether it was an attempt to increase his speed or the result of less time in the gym, but it got me thinking how interesting it would be to see the “El Matador” give featherweight a shot. Assuming his body can handle the cut without it negatively affecting his performance in the ring, dropping down a division would be a good way to hit “refresh” on his career, as well as a move creating new match-ups for Huerta and possibly providing a few size-related competitive advantages he hasn’t necessarily had thus far in his career at 155-pounds.

Did Diego Sanchez’s showing against Paulo Thiago restore your faith in him as a welterweight or would you prefer to see him drop back down to 155-pounds?

Tool: His performance on Saturday restored my faith in Diego Sanchez period. I haven’t seen the Diego of old since the Clay Guida fight so it was pretty nice to see that old aggression back in action from the former “Nightmare.” He didn’t look nearly as doughy on Saturday as he did against John Hathaway, so perhaps he would be better off sticking around at 170 lbs.

Regardless of the division he competes in there are still plenty of compelling match-ups for Sanchez. If he stays at welterweight I think a bout with Martin Kampmann could easily steal whatever show it’s on. If he goes back down to lightweight I think the bout that would make the most sense is a rematch with Kenny Florian, as both fighters are completely different from the two guys that competed for the first “Ultimate Fighter” championship.

Conlan: Somewhere in between I suppose. I can’t say with conviction his showing against Thiago made me feel Sanchez can beat the UFC’s top welterweights, but the thought of him fighting Kampmann, Dan Hardy, or Nate Diaz has my salivary glands firing up so I’m also not sure I want to see him head back to 155-pounds just yet.

Thiago has stated in the past he’s unable to train full-time due to his job in Brazilian law enforcement and aside from knocking out Josh Koscheck hasn’t been overwhelmingly impressive. He’s lost three of his last five fights and, aside from a respectable submission of Mike Swick, has gone the distance in four of them. It was a highly entertaining fight, and Sanchez’s win was a nice notch the ol’ the ring-post, but didn’t restore the confidence I had in him 3-4 years ago during the height of his run at 170-pounds (as a finishing performance might have).

Similarly to the division he’s currently residing in, I think there are still a few match-ups ripe with potential for entertainment at lightweight including Florian, George Sotiropoulos, and the new crop of WEC 155-pounders heading to the Octagon in the near future (Ben Henderson, Jamie Varner, Donald Cerrone, etc.). I feel Sanchez gave up on the weight-class after enduring the strain on his body only to be pummeled for the first time in his career courtesy of BJ Penn. Leaving it behind on such a sour note after looking sharp against Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson almost feels like quitting to me and I think it would be a shame of “Nightmare” never gives it a go again.

If given the choice, who would you most like to see Fedor Emelianenko fight out of the
following group – Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, or Randy Couture?

Tool: I’ve got to go with Velasquez, especially now that he’s got the strongest claim of anyone to be the top heavyweight in the world. Even if you don’t agree with that sentiment you can’t deny that Velasquez is now firmly positioned as the best heavyweight in the UFC, and that’s a spot I expect him to keep for the foreseeable future. Emelianenko doesn’t have the aura of invincibility around him anymore so the fight may not be as appealing as it was four months ago, but at this point we still have to believe that Fedor is one of the top fighters in the world and as such he would be a stiff challenge for anybody in the heavyweight division.

Conlan: I’m going to take my “writer/associate editor” cap off for a second and pick Couture as simply a fan of MMA. Though Velasquez and Lesnar are more-relevant opponents for Emelianenko where rankings are concerned, “The Natural” is a legend in the sport – perhaps its biggest star from a mainstream perspective – whose remaining fights are numbered due to age/opportunity. On the flipside, Lesnar and Velasquez should both be active for the foreseeable future and as such have more time ahead of them than Couture to see a bout against Emelianenko eventually materialize.

Lesnar/Velasquez are merely “top five” heavyweights, while pairing Couture and Fedor creates a legitimate “dream fight” people have been wanting to see for as long as the sport has existed in its current form. As silly as it may sound to bypass on having the highest ranked fighters face each other, MMA is as much about entertainment/storylines as it is two individuals throwing down in a ring, and in that regard it would be foolish to pass on the possibility of finally bringing Couture vs. Emelianenko to fruition.

Based on his showing this past weekend, do you think Jake Shields should have to win at least one more fight in the UFC before he earns a title shot?

Conlan: If Shields’ contendership was based solely on how he looked against Martin Kampmann then I would support the notion of him having to notch another victory in the Octagon before getting a title-shot. However, his status also stems from having won fourteen consecutive fights prior to UFC 121 including in-ring success against a number of top competitors, and in that regard I have no problem saying he deserves to be “next in line” for a crack at the belt.

As far as the Californian’s lackluster performance in Anaheim, fans should keep in mind Kampmann is an excellent grappler who has yet to be submitted in a 21-bout career and wasn’t on any level a good stylistic match-up for the Californian. Additionally, Shields hadn’t fought at 170-pounds for a significant period of time before entering the ring against “The Hitman” last weekend and even admitted he seriously struggled with the weight-cut after competing at 185 for the past two years. Both factors definitely played into Shields’ forgettable debut and need to be taken into account when questioning whether or not he deserves to face the winner of Georges St. Pierre’s upcoming title-defense against Koscheck.

Tool: I’ve been pretty high on Shields for awhile now, but even I have to admit that he hasn’t sold me on a potential bout with GSP just yet. Brendhan is spot on with his assessment of Shields’ worthiness as a result of his record, and I echoed his points when we had a similar discussion last week. Of course, that was before his fight with Kampmann. Let’s face it: Shields did not impress the UFC faithful on Saturday night. The hardcore fan base can certainly make the case for Shields being one of the best welterweights in the world, but any fan seeing him for the first time at UFC 121 would most likely laugh at the idea of a match-up with St. Pierre. Personally I feel a second trip inside the octagon against a highly-regarded opponent would give Shields another chance to make a first impression, and that could be very beneficial to the UFC and their bottom line.

Brendan Schaub has already called out Frank Mir for his next fight. If you were UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva, would you book that bout?

Conlan: I’d definitely put the two together if I was Silva for a few reasons, and, other than the possibility of Mir serving as a replacement for the injured Shane Carwin at UFC 125 against Roy Nelson, I can’t think of any reason why the match-up shouldn’t be made.

When comparing the two heavyweights there’s a nice contrast to their in-ring approaches which is often favorable when it comes to the production of an entertaining fight. Schaub has heavy-hands and likes to bang, while Mir is known for his grappling but also isn’t afraid to put his recently-improved striking on display either. It would be interesting to see whether Mir would focus 100% on assessing the depth of Schaub’s ground-game or opt to test his stand-up instead.

Also, I think the pairing also makes sense from an “internal rankings” standpoint. Schaub has won his last three outings and dismantled former title-contender Gabriel Gonzaga in the biggest fight of his young career. On the flipside, Mir is 2-2 in his last four and needs to build off his victory over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 119 (if for no other reason to help dull fans’ memory of the fourteen forgettable minutes prior to the knockout-knee). They are each in a place career-wise where a win over the other would provide a significant rub where contendership is concerned while a potential loss wouldn’t be overly damaging.

Tool: I agree that this booking makes sense, but of course this question was posed before the news came out that Shane Carwin was out of his UFC 125 fight with Nelson. Now I’m firmly of the belief that Mir makes the most possible sense as a replacement opponent for “Big Country.” It’s a great stylistic match-up between two guys who made their name with their jiu-jitsu skills, but have since evolved into heavy-handed strikers. That fight also has far greater title implications that a potential Mir/Schaub showdown, especially given the fact that both Mir and Nelson recently came up short in #1 contender bouts.

Now that he’s extended his win streak to five, how far away is Matt Hamill from competing for UFC gold?

Conlan: Hamill’s win-streak is akin to one of those computer-produced paintings a person has to thoroughly examine in order to see the actual image contained within. During the run he’s knocked off Reese Andy (who hasn’t fought since), Mark Munoz (now a middleweight), Jon Jones (by disqualification after getting absolutely decimated in the previous four minutes), Keith Jardine (lost six of his last seven fights), and most-recently Tito Ortiz at UFC 121 (who hasn’t won or been anywhere near active in three years). Looking beyond the Jones DQ and at the actual individuals he legitimately beat, Hamill has certainly been impressive but doesn’t have victories over opponents who anyone could argue are in peak position divisionally or skills-wise.

All that being said, I think Hamill will need to win at least three more times before working his way into the title picture. Dana White has already stated “The Hammer” will be paired up against a “Top 10” adversary in his next bout so that’s a good start. The UFC’s 205-pound pool is extremely deep and Hamill cannot cement himself as leader of the pack without first taking out a few of his highly-ranked peers.

Tool: It’s true that Hamill’s win-streak does have at least one heavy asterisk attached to it, but other than the Jones fight he’s pretty much dominated anyone he’s faced in the last few years. He’s still improving every time we see him, and at this rate he could very well be the next great wrestler/striker hybrid. He’s going to need at least a few wins against the upper level guys in the division before he’s going to be considered for contendership, but it’s certainly in the UFC’s best interests to try and get him into that position.

I would never advocate the usage of Hamill’s disability to try and gain more exposure for his accomplishments, but at the same time we cannot deny that his condition is part of who he is. He’s overcome some tremendous obstacles to get where he is, and that sort of thing can really capture public interest. Last night was the premiere of Hamill, a feature film based on his life, and if the movie has any success at all with critics then it’s only bound to bring more attention to this particular member of the UFC’s roster.

Following months of inconclusive diagnosis and ailment speculation, Lesnar has experienced a miracle of a recovery. In what once was being labeled as a career ending injury, has now become a brief layoff with immediate intentions of getting back to business.

With an expected return by summertime, there is only one fight I want to see: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir III

The bad blood between the two has been brewing since Brock’s first introduction into the UFC and has continued up to this day.

It has been no secret that former champion Frank Mir has his eyes set on a third match-up. Even during pre-fight interviews previous to his fight with Check Kongo, Mir was fixated on meeting Lesnar again. His entire focus seemed to be on Lesnar, with many even thinking Mir was looking past Kongo as an opponent. Well, a minute and thirteen seconds later cleared any predictions of whether he took his opponent lightly.

So with the announcement yesterday of Brock’s return, the possibility of facing Mir for a third time was presented to the former NCAA wrestling champion, Lesnar said, “Absolutely, You know what, I don’t think I beat him as bad as I could. So for me to get my hands on that stalker again, Frank Mir’s made it a mission of his life. Frank Mir’s a stalker. It’s been a while since I’ve had a stalker, but we’ll take care of that if we ever face him again. I’d be delighted to fight Frank again.”

With an interim title between Mir and Shane Carwin set for March, the winner will get the chance to take on Lesnar. If for some reason the winner of that match can’t be ready by Brock’s suspected return, the winner of the Cain Valasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira willl step in.

“I’ll just sit back. I’ll sharpen my skills,” said Lesnar. “I’ll be prepared for either one of those guys (Carwin or Mir), or if it’s Nogueira or if it’s Velasquez, I know one thing all them guys are sh**ing their pants right now.”

And while the opponent makes no difference to Brock, as a fan, the hype train has already been set for a third showdown with Mir.

I think we will see the best and most determined Frank Mir against Carwin and while I have no doubt he poses a real threat to Mir, I am starting with an early prediction here and say Frank will win the fight. Since the beating he took at the hands of Lesnar back at UFC 100, Mir has looked every bit as impressive with one goal in mind, Brock Lesnar.

While nothing is set in stone as of yet, one thing is for sure, the champion is back.

The two heavyweights began sizing one another up before Kongo began to attempt to tee ff when he was sent crashing to the ground from a big hook from Mir. It was all downhill from there for the towering Wolf’s Lair trained striker as Mir swarmed all over him, sinking in the fight ending guillotine choke to seal the deal and turn Cheick’s light switch off for a moment or two following the conclusion of the bot.

Of course Mir took the opportunity to make his ambition to face off with Brock Lesnar in a rematch once the UFC heavyweight champion can make a full recovery public in the post fight interview with Joe Rogan, and based on this evening’s performance it’s hard to argue against it.

The question that has to be asked at this point is this: Coming off of his loss to Brock Lesnar, is it fair to recognize Mir as the top contender to the heavyweight crown in the UFC?

“When he got sick it screwed up my training because he was such a driving force for me,” said Mir. “I went into a depression for two to three days where I didn’t go to the gym, I got sick — I drove myself insane thinking we may possibly not fight again.

“I couldn’t live with that.”

Apparently the obsession with Brock isn’t really with Brock at all. No, according to Mir’s father you can chalk it up to a deep seeded disdain for losing.

“He hated to lose with a passion, whether it was a checker game, marbles or connect the dots,” explained Frank Sr. “Something as ridiculous as checkers, if he didn’t win, he’d walk away. He could not conceive he didn’t win.

“Being a young guy we’d all tell him, ‘Come on, man. It’s a checkers game, give me a break.’ He’d just walk away in anger because he couldn’t believe he lost.”

If this is truly the case, one would have to wonder why there was never such a previous outcry on Mir’s end following defeats suffered at the hands of Ian Freeman, Marcio Cruz or Brandon Vera.

Talk about kicking a dog while it’s down.

5 Oz. continues to wish Brock Lesnar a speedy recovery, and further hopes that Mir will someday have his wish granted.

It seems as if Mir has tunnel vision, and instead of his focus being centered around the 6’4″, 230+ pound task in front of him, the Las Vegas based submission artist can’t shake the mental image of a certain gorilla proportioned man-beast that recently taught Mir a brutal lesson in humility.

While the recent UFC Countdown Show was meant to promote his upcoming fight with Kongo, Mir just couldn’t seem to keep UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar‘s name out of his mouth. A large portion of Mir’s segment was focused around the fourteen-time Octagon veteran’s effort to gain size and power to compete with….. you guessed it; the same guy that transformed his face into ground hamburger just five months ago.

“I’ve never hated a human being as much as I hate [Brock],” said Mir during the countdown show that aired on Spike TV. “It’s never driven me to the points of insanity that it has driven me to now. I want to rip Cheick Kongo’s arm off and make a statement, and it’s just because I want to scare the s*** out of Brock. I want him to know that he will never be the same human being after I get out of that cage with him. I will detrimentally affect his physical life forever and scar him on a mental level. He drives me in a way that I’ve never felt driven before.

“My long term goal is Brock Lesnar’s demise. My short term goal is to give Cheick Kongo his walking papers and finish this for good. Cheick Kongo’s standing in the way of that dream.”

While it’s never a bad thing to possess the burning desire to right a wrong, looking past a monster like Kongo would be the most costly mistake Frank has ever made.

Let’s not forget for one second what the antidote to Mir’s poison has been since his beating suffered at the hands of Ian Freeman way back in 2002: Good old fashioned ground and pound. A department the soft spoken Kongo has a recent history of success in.

Frank Mir

In a recent conversation with Fighters Only Magazine, Mir stated that he had one goal he would like to achieve before it’s all said and done, and that is, “To end Brock Lesnar’s career. Really, it’s what I think about all the time. Brock Lesnar exploited a huge weakness in my game and no matter who I crush after this, I have to crush him to show I’ve improved that weakness.”

However, don’t be so quick to assume that Mir had his feelings hurt when Brock taunted the former champion after “removing the horseshoe from his a**” at UFC 100. According to Mir, it’s all about patching up the holes and evolving as a fighter.

“It’s nothing about how he talked to me in my last fight, I could care less about it,” explained Mir. “If I took it that personal there are other ways to handle situation like that outside of a cage, but honestly I just want to fix what was exploited.

“If you’re a true martial artist you don’t do it for money or titles, just to be the best human being possible, and if someone exploits a weakness, who better to see if you’ve fixed it than the guy who exploited it.”

The anticipated bout has been agreed to but nothing has been signed as of right now according to a recent report on MMAWeekly.com.

UFC 107 will take place on December 12 from Memphis, Tennessee.

Previously rumored for UFC 105 in Manchester, England, it’s likely the bout was shifted to the latter event due to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson pulling out of his expected match-up with Rashad Evans in order to play B.A. Baracus in the upcoming A-Team remake.

Mir will be looking to bounce back from his recent defeat at the oversized hands of Brock Lesnar after putting together three consecutive wins in the Octagon while Kongo is in the same boat, having recently suffered a loss to Cain Velasquez following three straight wins with the UFC.

In an interview with Raw Vegas TV, he ranted on everything from Fedor Emelianenko’s decision not to accept the UFC’s contract offer, to play by play analyst, Joe Rogan.

He stated he was angered by Joe Rogans comments during and after the Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight, when Rogan suggested Nogueira’s loss to Mir was the result of a staph infection. Mir stated, “Rogan’s making excuses for certain fighters, for why they performed badly. … Every fighter has reasons we don’t perform at 100%. As fans, we don’t want to hear heroes and warriors complain that they almost died of staph. I think that’s pretty sad and pathetic.”

He then continued with the possibility of a rubber match between him and current champion Brock Lesnar, “We’re 1-1 against each other. He had a lack of experience his first fight in the UFC, and I was able to capitalize on that. He was smarter than me. He made up a lot of ground on technique and while he’s not more technical than I am, he was able to learn enough technique to take advantage of his athletic ability. He made much better improvements than I did. He beat me fair and square. … The next time we fight each other I can also improve upon why I lost last time.”

To top off the bold comments, the always confident Mir talked about Fedor signing with Strikeforce instead of the UFC, “His management team, I think, is the reason he can’t do what he wants to do. I think everybody, every morning should wake up with something to prove. The minute you think you don’t think you have something to prove, retire, go home and disappear.”

There will be few men watching the heavyweight championship bout between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir at UFC 100 tomorrow evening as the undefeated smashing machine that goes by the name of Shane Carwin.

When it was recently announced that Carwin would be facing off with fellow undefeated heavyweight Cain Velasquez at UFC 104 it left little doubt; the winner of this fight will be getting the next crack at the the UFC heavyweight title.

With that in mind, FiveOuncesOfPain.com was able to catch up with Carwin just prior to UFC 100 to capture his thoughts on the most important fight of his life, that he’s not actually fighting in.

“Brock has the power and size advantage and Frank will be a dangerous threat on the ground,” explained the knockout artist from Colorado.

While Mir put on one of the most impressive performances of his career against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, Carwin feels as if Big Nog was making his job easy for him to some extent.

“Frank’s boxing was impressive against Nogueira, but Nogueira was not adjusting his movements to avoid those strikes,” explained Carwin.

However, Shane just doesn’t envision Lesnar making those same mistakes.

“I think Brock will make the adjustments, and if he does, he should come out on top,” said Carwin.

So it’s official, Carwin’s got Lesnar going into UFC 100, but he’ll be the first to tell you not to count Mir out.

“Mir is an amazing fighter so anything can happen,” concluded Shane.

From encountering everything from doctors who said he would never fight again, the tremendous amount of rehab he had to face and overcome, clawing his way back to the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division, to now facing a genetic freak who is at the last step to full redemption.

In the days leading up to his encounter with Brock Lesnar, Mir speaks on the match from a more strategic standpoint.

Mir is counting on one of two things leading into his fight; that he gets rushed near the beginning of the fight like he did last time, or he sees the more conservative approach from Lesnar, like he took with Randy Couture.

“If Brock really comes out and tries to abandon the [training], comes running at me heads over heels and just tries to bullrush me over, I honestly think that’s his best chance,” said Mir in a recent interview on UFC.com.

However, Mir does not have as much faith in Brock’s cardio and muscle endurance as he has in his explosive power.

“I don’t think he’s physically capable of going 5 rounds of hard fighting just because of his stature,”explained Mir.

Adding, “Could he go 3 rounds, or 5 rounds if I fight like Heath and let him dominate me and keep me in great position, well yeah.

“If he told me he was going to stand with me, then yeah, I would stand toe to toe with him and swing. Because I feel I have great head movement. He has no head movement.” He continues, “But all of the sudden he throws a punch, changes levels and shoots on me, that’s gonna be difficult. So that’s why I don’t wanna stand in front of him. No so much for his punches, but his shots.”

Mir seems to be on the right track. So what does he envision happening on July 11th? Frank goes on to lay out how he’s going to win this fight.

“But if I throw 3 or 4 punches and I slide off at an angle, throw another punch, and he shoots, and I’m never where I’m at, that’s going to be very difficult [for Lesnar],” said Mir.

As if Mir’s striking coach Ken Hahn was in his ear, we see how much influence he has on Frank and how energized he has Frank coming into this fight. It seems Frank has just as much confidence in his striking, if not more, than he did for the Nogueira fight.

Mir continues about, what he feels is his biggest asset for this fight, his footwork. “I think now we really see in MMA how much footwork is really a prevailing defense, and offense. It’s more important than slipping or checking punches because footwork helps eliminate shots, it helps eliminate getting kicked and punched in the head. You see some of the greatest fighters in the world right now, and one thing I can point out that they all have, is great footwork.”

We can expect to see Mir bouncing around and looking like a more active version than we saw in his last fight with Big Nog as it seems he is gaining confidence in his striking with every pad session. He has been on the underside of Brock before and we should see him looking to desperately avoid being put there again.

This is the opportunity of Franks life right now as a win on July 11th, in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, would solidify his Champion status and give him that redemption he is so furiously seeking.

In a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, a quote is attributed to White in which the UFC President denied any knowledge of a Mir injury.

“UFC president Dana White said after the weigh-in for UFC 96 at the Nationwide Arena that he knew nothing of an injury by Mir,” wrote Iole, who later reported in his story that sources close to Mir had confirmed that the interim heavyweight champion underwent knee surgery last week.

The stories were issued in response to FiveOuncesOfPain.com’s exclusive report earlier in the day revealing that Mir had sustained a recent injury and that the planned Lesnar vs. Mir II main event had been scrapped for the card.

Despite White’s refusal to go on the record and officially announce that the bout was off for the originally scheduled date, Five Ounces of Pain stuck by its story, as sources had revealed that Mir’s camp informed the UFC on Thursday that he had been forced to withdraw and that UFC officials informed several fighters on location in Columbus, Ohio for UFC 96 of the new development.

While the UFC is withholding an official announcement, Mir himself has now publicly confirmed that the match will not be happening as scheduled and that it will have to be rescheduled.

During a bodybuilding webcast conducted at a fit expo in the Columbus area held in conjunction with this weekend’s “Arnold Classic,” Mir responded to a question about the date of the fight at the 1:26 mark by saying, “Hopefully (it will take place) the summertime. It was May 23 but I needed to get a scope done to my knee so I got it done immediately last week. It would be rushing it to try and fight that soon because I can’t really train for four to six weeks as far as sparring and wrestling and the real forms of training. Obviously I can hit the treadmill but that’s usually not a good idea to be getting in shape for a fight on a treadmill.”

Sources also informed Five Ounces of Pain that while the UFC has yet to make a public announcement regarding the cancellation of Lesnar vs. Mir II at UFC 98, the company is already exploring options for a replacement main event. One scenario believed to be under consideration is moving Rashad Evans’ first defense of his UFC light heavyweight title that had been planned for UFC 100 on July 12.