Mir we go again.
After being rumored to face off against everyone from Brock Lesnar to Brendan Schaub, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir is now reportedly in agreement to throw hands with the contractually unstable Roy Nelson, so sayeth our fiscal friends over at BetUS.com.
That leads us to believe that whatever beef Nelson had with his former boss has been settled out of court, or at least out of the court of public opinion. And a bout with the equally chatty Mir will provide some interesting pre-fight hype, as well as closure to their long standing argument over who really got the better of who when they hit the mats at Grappler's Quest back in 2003.
But you know the old saying, every fight starts on the feet, and both men have been slinging some heavy duty leather in recent appearances.
Mir (14-5) is coming off a knockout win over Mirko Filipovic at UFC 119 back on Sept. 25. His third round finish over "Cro Cop" was impressive, unfortunately no one was awake to congratulate him after the fight.
That's because his two-and-a-half round stinker against the Croatian was called "one of the worst main events in UFC history." In fact, Mir's performance was so putrid that UFC President Dana White failed to recognize his stoppage as "Knockout of the Night" -- despite it being the only (T)KO finish of the entire event.
Still, it should be noted that the jiu-jitsu black belt has heavy hands, knocking out Brazilian vegetable Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira after stiffening Cheick Kongo en route to a Dec. '09 submission win.
And with the possibility of an Interim title looming on the horizon, Mir may be hungrier than ever.
Speaking of hungry, Nelson (15-5) was also on the fast-track to bigger and better opportunities within the division -- until he ran headfirst into a Brazilian roadblock named Junior dos Santos at UFC 117 last August.
"Cigano" took home the unanimous decision win and the right to (eventually) challenge Cain Velasquez, who is now sidelined with a torn rotator cuff.
The loss snapped "Big Country's" undefeated streak since graduating from the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), but you can bet your bottom dollar a decisive win over Mir would carry him right back to the top of the contender's list.
Which aside from Dos Santos, also has Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar wondering where they fit in. Anyone up for a UFC heavyweight tournament in 2011?
UFC 130 is expected to be held over Memorial Day Weekend; however, nothing is official at this time. Keep it locked in to MMAmania.com for further updates to this still-developing fight card as they become available.
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