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Nearly three years to the day, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira were gearing up for a pivotal heavyweight clash at UFC 92 that would determine the division's interim champion.
After a lopsided first round of action that saw Mir surprisingly get the best of "Minotauro" in the stand up department, the second stanza turned out to be even more uneven. In fact, Mir went on to register the first-ever (technical) knockout of the Brazilian, who up until that point in his illustrious mixed martial arts (MMA) career had earned the reputation for having a chin chiseled out of marble.
Shortly thereafter, however, news would begin to trickle out that Nogueira was suffering from a severe staph infection during their 265-pound tussle, which actually had him hospitalized just days before stepping inside the Octagon. Nonetheless, two fights later, Cain Velasquez would once again touch the legendary chin of Nogueira at UFC 110, and once again, it betrayed him.
Mir, meanwhile, would go on to get finished by Brock Lesnar in his next fight after the win over Nogueira and then experience the same result against Shane Carwin nine months later with a submission of Cheick Kongo sandwiched between the defeats.
Both fighters have since turned things around and are back in the win column, with their rematch tonight (Dec. 10, 2011) in the UFC 140 co main event serving two purposes: It will determine if their first fight really was compromised, as well as help establish which fighter can once again be considered a viable heavyweight title contender in 2012 and beyond.
Look for Mir and Nogueira to come out boxing, even though both big men are extremely talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners. Mir is going to want to prove that his initial boxing success in their first fight was no fluke, while Nogueira will want to prove just the opposite ... for better or worse.
| Aspect | Mir | Points | Nogueira | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range Fighting | ||||
| Boxing | Power | 0 | Precision | Tie |
| Kickboxing | Decent | 1 | You Can Kick? | Mir |
| Wrestling | Good | 1 | Not as Good | Mir |
| Clinch Fighting | ||||
| Dirty Boxing | Effective | 0 | Equally Effective | Tie |
| Thai Clinch | Knees | 1 | None | Mir |
| Throws/Trips | Quick | 1 | Slow | Mir |
| Ground Fighting | ||||
| Positional Control | Solid | 1 | Leaky | Mir |
| Scrambling | Average | 1 | Crafty | Nogueira |
| Ground and Pound | Can Finish | 1 | Sets Up Subs | Mir |
| Submissions | Among the Best | 1 | The Best | Nogueira |
| Intangibles | Crumbles When Hurt | 1 | Hard to Crumble | Nogueira |
| Overall | Old | 6/3 | Older | Mir |
To check out our complete archive for all the news and notes related to the fight between Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira that takes place later this evening click here.