The Fight Horizon
In today’s Mixed Martial Arts, new fights are announced so often it’s difficult to keep track of all of them, let alone understand how they came about and what the implications are. So twice a week here at The Fight Horizon on Inside Fights, writer Daniel Sohn takes a quick, but in-depth look at newly announced match-ups to mark on your calendar.
The Matchup:
Frank Mir (16-8 overall, 14-8 in the UFC)
Strengths: Well-rounded, ground-game
Weaknesses: Tendency to get KO’d
Alistair Overeem (36-13 overall, 1-3 in the UFC)
Strengths: Intimidating physique, accurate striking
Weaknesses: Cardio, lack of finishing power
The Date: February 1st, 2014 at UFC 169
Weight Class: Heavyweight
What led to it: Two former top contenders in the midst of multi-fight losing streaks and absolutely sliding down the rankings. Overeem was given a bounce back fight against Travis Browne and was winning…until he got KTFO. Frank Mir got to welcome Daniel Cormier to the UFC, lost, then got to welcome Josh Barnett back to the UFC and lost in even worse fashion. Barnett marks his third loss in a row, while Overeem has lost back to back fights.
Why it matters: Can you say loser leaves town?
Frank Mir is on a three fight skid at 34 years of age. He was on absolute fire after defeating Roy Nelson and following that up with an arm-breaking submission win over Big Nog. Truly on top of the world. Then he ran into Junior Dos Santos in Santos’ first title defense and got KO’d. Fight Daniel Cormier in his UFC debut? How about it Frank? That didn’t work out well, and then he welcomed the Warmaster back to the UFC and got finished in the first two minutes. Four losses in a row and Mir loses pretty much all of his value, except as a potential legacy fighter and mid-level gatekeeper. He might even be on his way out if he wins this fight. A loss? It’s curtains.
Loser leaves town goes both ways. Overeem might be in a worse spot than Frank Mir. Oh, how far the mighty have fallen. The legitimacy of Alistair Overeem’s entire career is in question at this point. He came into the UFC on a huge hype train with high expectations, then delivered the goods by demolishing Brock Lesnar and sending him into MMA retirement. So automatic title fight, right? Wrong. Overeem tests post-fight for ridiculously high testosterone levels, serves his suspension, then comes back…weaker than ever. Overeem just hasn’t been the same since. He hasn’t had the same granite physique, and he definitely hasn’t had that killer, explosive finishing power. He was winning against Bigfoot Silva, but he wasn’t really close to finishing him, even from a dominant position. Silva bounced back and put Overeem down. Part 2, Overeem was winning against Travis Browne, but wasn’t really close to finishing him. Browne bounced back and put Overeem down. He’s 1-2 in the UFC and both losses came after the elevated levels of testosterone. It doesn’t take a math wizard to add up all of these factors.
Overeem isn’t the same fighter he was against Brock Lesnar and Brett Rogers. Those same strikes he threw against Silva and Browne would have dropped them a year or two ago. They just don’t carry the same oomph as they used to.
Mir is 34 years old and had a shot at regaining the title against Dos Santos. We all know how that one ended and now he’s on a three fight skid.
Two guys here with tons of potential, but their best days may be behind them. Their recent performances are indicative of a slide. How far down they’ll actually go now is still up in the air, and it’s not too late to turn things around with a big win here. But you can probably bet the house that the loser is packing his bags.
