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 and Mirko Filopovic, or “Cro Cop”, headline a UFC 119 card that is full of compelling matchups. UFC 119 goes September 25 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was originally scheduled to fight Mir, but he had to pull out due to injury. Cro Cop stepped up on short notice which will likely mean he won’t be as well prepared.

The Croation MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop hasn’t really excelled against the best of the UFC. A win over Frank Mir on short notice could go a long way towards rehabilitating his reputation as one of the top heavyweights.

UFC 115 took place on June 12 in Vancouver BC with two aging veterans getting very different results in their respective bouts.

UFC legend Chuck Liddell got knocked out in what should be the last fight of his career by Rich Franklin. Liddell had Franklin on his heels, but Franklin connected as Liddell closed and the fight was over.

Pride legend Mirko Cro Cop submitted Patrick Barry in the undercard after Barry controlled much of the fight, but never aggressively tried to end it.

The next event for the UFC is a heavyweight championship bout between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin. Lesnar is favored in UFC 116 odds at -185.

Two heavyweight kickboxers go toe-to-toe in the octagon in a match-up that has fight of the night written all over it as Pat Barry takes on Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 115.

Mirko Cro Cop has heard enough of the critics calling him too old and he is going to come in this fight well-prepared to knock out his opponent.

It looks like the oddsmakers think that has lost a step as he is listed as the UFC 115 odds underdog at +125 while Barry is -155.

Pat Barry is a rising talent who packs a ton of power. A victory over a legend like Mirko would put him securely in the top tier of UFC heavyweights.

These two fighters are both most comfortable fighting on their feet so expect a steady diet of devastation.

Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell coming off of losses face off in the octagon at UFC 115 looking to enhance their status within the UFC.

After consecutive losses to Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua, Chuck Liddell took some time off to revamp his training. He is now in the best shape that he’s been in in years and is looking to use his legendary right hand to send Franklin crashing to the floor.

Rich Franklin is comfortable on his feet, but he will be looking to avoid Liddell’s deadly and get the fight to the mat where Liddell is at a disadvantage. The longer this fight goes, the more it favors the younger Franklin.

Pat Barry and Mirko Cro Cop are the co-headliners. Barry is a striker looking to make a name for himself in the UFC against a legend who is looking to prove that his time is not done. Both of these fighters are kickboxers so expect some serious punishment that ends with someone knocked out.

Franklin is listed as the UFC 115 odds favorite at -150 to Liddell’s +120 while Barry is the same -150 to Cro Cop’s +120.