All of the politeness and respect is gone from this video as Frank Mir and Mirko Filipovic go at each other. They look like they are ready to fight and I for one can’t wait to see them go at it at UFC 119.
I was pretty convinced that there is no way Cro Cop wins this fight, but I’m not so sure any more. Mir has done well against kick boxers, but mostly because the kick boxers never had a chance.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira talks about his upcoming fight with Ryan Bader at UFC 119.
Little Nog doesn’t seem to be too concerned about Bader’s superior wrestling skills. He thinks his Jiu Jitsu will even out the score there. Nogueira didn’t show much ability to counter wrestlers in his last fight, so it seems unlikely he will be able to do so against Bader on Saturday.
The UFC 119 Nogueira odds list him as an underdog at +140 which makes this one of the closest fights on the card.
Ryan Bader talks about his upcoming fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119 on Saturday 25.
He is very respectful of Little Nog “I have huge amounts of respect for him and his brother, what they’ve done for this sport, and what they’ve done in this sport.”
He talks briefly about strategy saying “I think I just have to create scrambles and definitely use my power and land some shots and keep mixing stuff up.”
For all of the respect Bader gives Nogueira talking about how Nogueira is a top-five fighter, Bader is the UFC odds favorite in this one at -170 while Nogueira is +140.
Video preview of the Frank Mir vs Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic and Ryan Bader vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira fights.
In some ways these two fights mirror each other with older vets with improved striking taking on younger fighters that are best on the ground but have very effective stand up.
Admittedly, Mir is a lot more experienced than Bader, but the old guys are both underdogs with UFC 119 odds listing Bader the favorite at -165 and Mir was paying -220 before the rumors of Cro Cop’s injury caused the odds-makers to take the Mir-Cro Cop odds offline.
Up and coming light-heavyweight Ryan Bader faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 119 in Indianapolis, IN on September 25. Both fighters come in to this fight with perfect records in the UFC, but Bader has looked impressive rising from the ranks of TUF while Little Nog has looked quite ordinary since joining the UFC after a long career in PRIDE.
Bader comes in to this fight listed as the UFC odds favorite at -165 to Nogueira’s +135.
After winning Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, Ryan Bader (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) joined the UFC and continued his rise to prominence translating his wrestling background to build a ferocious ground and pound attack. He is not a technically proficient striker, but he is extremely powerful.
Bader’s next opponent is PRIDE legend Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira (19-3-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC). Little Nog was originally feared for his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but, ever since training in boxing with the Cuban national team, he seems more pre-occupied with getting KOs and his ground game has suffered as a result.
Nogueira’s last fight came at UFC 114 against Jason Brilz who is basically a physically weaker, less-accomplished version of Bader. Nogueira struggled to deal with that wrestler and ended up getting booed when he was announced as the winner by decision.
If this fight is to go for Nogueira, he is going to have to get his ground game back in to form and condition himself to go full-out for three full rounds because Bader is relentless.
Bader will have a hard time finishing the fight before it goes to a decision because Nogueira is too good at boxing to open himself up for Bader to get the KO and he is too good a BJJ to get submitted by the wrestler, but Nogueira will likely spend the whole fight trying to hold off Bader and lose in a decision.
Heavyweights Frank Mir and Mirko Filopovic meet in the octagon at UFC 119 on Saturday, September 25 in Indianapolis, IN.
Mir goes in to this match as a substantial favorite paying -220 in UFC 119 odds to Mirko Cro Cop’s +180. Both are experienced fighters, but Cro Cop hasn’t really established himself in the UFC despite being a popular and often dominant fighter in other promotions while Mir is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Mirko Filopovic (27-7-2 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has a tremendous reputation and a great following form his time fighting in the K-1 and Pride promotions. He is a kickboxer first and foremost, but he has also been training in Jiu Jitsu over the past ten years and he is becoming quite good at the discipline.
Cro Cop’s first venture in to the UFC ended in disappointment. UFC betting fans expected him to tear through what was a weak heavyweight division, but he finished with a 1-2 record after some rather lackluster losses. He now blames a number of distractions that kept him from focusing on his fights at the time.
He is 3-1 in his latest go around in the UFC, but his only loss came against the only top-tier fighter that he’s faced, Junior dos Santos. His best win came at UFC 115 over Patrick Barry. He showed off his improving Jiu Jitsu ability submitting Barry with a rear naked choke.
Cro Cop is taking this fight on short-notice after the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was forced to drop out. He said in a recent interview that the five weeks of training won’t be enough for him to fight at his best and Mir rather cynically responded that he was taking a holiday so that the fight would be even and neither fighter would have an excuse for losing.
The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist Frank Mir (13-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) is a very versatile fighter who lost the heavyweight belt after a horrific motorcycle accident derailed his career. Besides BJJ, Mir also has wrestling, Karate and boxing training and he can fight quite effectively standing up although he is most comfortable with the fight on the ground.
Mir’s last fight came at UFC 111 and ended in a loss to Shane Carwin. Had he won that fight, he would have had another title shot by now, but with the loss he needs a few victories with Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos expected to get the next two title shots and Carwin looking like a good bet for a rematch after acquitting himself well in his failed title challenge at UFC 116.
The strategy in this fight should be pretty obvious. Cro Cop will try to stay on his feet where is legendary left kick can come in to play while Mir will try to do what he did to kickboxer Cheick Kongo and take Cro Cop down on the first exchange and never let him back up.
Mir is deserves to be the favorite in this one, but Cro Cop is probably the smarter play at +180. He has a strikers chance and his improving Jiu Jitsu skills could make the difference between winning and getting embarrassed.
Frank Mir talks about his upcoming bought with Mirko Filopovic “CroCop” at UFC 119 on Saturday Sept. 25 at Conseco Fieldhous in Indianapolis, In.
Frank Mir clearly respects his opponent and knows CroCop’s strengths, but he is also confident that he can stand up with Mirko CroCop going strength against strength and has a clear advantage if the fight goes to the mat saying, “I can beat him in more areas of the fight than he can beat me.”
The UFC 119 Odds list Mir as the favorite at -220 while CroCop is +180.
