There was a time Frank Mir disliked Brock Lesnar so much that he admitted his life was completely consumed by the goal of defeating the behemoth, but that doesn't mean the Las Vegas native is beyond being objective when it comes to analyzing a fight.
Alistair Overeem is confident he'll crush Lesnar in their year-end fight. Mir says it won't happen at UFC 141.
"Honestly, I think Brock will win pretty easily … I think we're going to see the closest thing to a grappler versus striker match you'll see nowadays," Mir told ESPN.com. "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."
Mir has a pretty solid wrestling background and possesses world class jiu-jitsu skills, but he was overwhelmed by Lesnar's size (6-foot-4, 285 pounds) and knowledge/execution of positioning himself on top of a downed opponent at UFC 100.
The 6-5, 253-pound Overeem is a good striker and has added to his grappling game over the years, but is he going to be able to keep Lesnar away?
Overeem also believes it'll be grappler vs. striker, but says the guy who likes standings and banging has the advantage.
"I'm very confident. It's going to be a knockout victory in the first round. He's not going to get out of the first round. It will not come to the second round. He's a strong guy, a very dangerous guy. But, I think I've got what it takes to stop him. And I got what it takes to stop him in the first round," said Overeem (2:05 mark).
