Frank Mir: Daniel Cormier doesn’t really have much finishing ability
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir recently appeared on MMA Fight Corner to discuss his upcoming blockbuster bout with Strikeforce Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier. Cormier has been billed as the next big thing at heavyweight in the UFC, and the experience of Mir is a perfect test to welcome him to the Octagon.
But Mir thinks that Cormier lacks finishing ability, a surprising statement considering DC has finished most of his fights early on:
“I pretty much know the guy. He has extremely strong, efficient wrestling. I think he throws his hands pretty fast and without abandon. I don’t think he’s the most technical boxer in the world, I don’t think he even thinks he’s the most technical boxer in the world. He’s definitely not JDS, but who is?”
“On the ground though, it really showed me, let’s face it, if I had the same guy on the ground, the fight would have ended pretty quickly. He wasn’t able to put the guy away through a lack of finishing abilities, through a lack of finishing moves. So that’s one thing that actually surprised me.”
It’s no secret that Mir’s submission skills are legendary, as is the Olympic wrestling pedigree of Daniel Cormier. When these two styles clash at UFC on Fox 7 April 20th, the fight could go either way.
Mir was last seen losing via TKO to Junior dos Santos at UFC 146 last May. He stepped in as a replacement for Alistair Overeem and admitted he was preparing for a power wrestler in Cain Velasquez. That may have had a hand in his loss to JDS, as his focus shifted and he was left with little time to lose the weight necessary to be fast enough to contend with ‘Cigano’.
If one thing is for certain, though, it’s that Mir is a true finisher of fights, evident by his many highlight reel submissions throughout his career. He has a tough test ahead in Cormier, but that doesn’t seem to have him too worried right now:
“I thought he couldn’t finish Josh because of Josh’s abilities, but then I realized ‘No, he doesn’t really have much finishing ability’. He can catch you with a punch, let’s face it, every heavyweight over 200 pounds has that ability to finish a fight if he catches you.”
“But you got to have the ability to finish with the submission, you know definitive ground and pound where you actually finish somebody off against the cage and it’s menacing. Not just finally the referee’s like ‘Well, you know, I guess the guy’s had enough. You really can’t put him away let me help end this fight for you.’”
Quite a bold statement in claiming that the referees actually help Cormier finish his bouts. From the look of things, Cormier has been nothing but a wrecking ball throughout his entire MMA career. He looks to take the UFC by storm, and Mir may just be his new victim.
On the other hand, if Mir can somehow pull off the upset, he will find himself with a wealth of new momentum in a division short on true title contenders. What are your predictions for their April 20th showdown?
