LAS VEGAS, July 11 – Brock Lesnar may not have made many fans in the Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday night by stopping local hero Frank Mir in the second round of their long awaited UFC 100 rematch, but if there’s one thing clear, it’s that beating the UFC heavyweight champion is going to be a tall order for anyone in the division.
“He did a good job,” said Mir, who handed Lesnar his only pro loss in February of 2008. “He neutralized the standup, got me against the cage, and I guess I’ve got something to work on.”
40 seconds in, the two engaged, with Lesnar taking Mir to the mat. Lesnar stayed close and kept his cool, making sure he didn’t get overaggressive like he did in their first fight, which would allow Mir to take advantage and lock in a submission. The crowd didn’t care for Lesnar’s patient approach, but it was scoring points for the champion as he used his bulk to tire Mir while mixing in short but effective punches to the head and body. By the time the bell sounded, Mir’s face showed the scars of battle.
Lesnar dumped Mir on the mat early in round two, but the champion let him right back up. That almost looked to be a mistake as Mir scored with some good shots and almost caught Lesnar’s neck before they toppled to the canvas with the Minnesotan on top. And despite the chants of the crowd to stand up the fighters, Lesnar was consistently working, and after another series of huge ground strikes, Mir was left with nowhere to go, forcing referee Herb Dean to halt the bout at the 1:48 mark.
With the win, Lesnar improves to 4-1; Mir falls to 12-4.
Want to Leave a Comment?