Sylvia/Gabe Beauperthy: Gabe brought Tim down immediately and worked the G-n-P. Sylvia put Beauperthy in full guard and was able to strike effectively from the mat. They stayed in the guard until the end of the round. Gabe got another huge takedown to open round two and was controlling the whole fight. Sylvia had a reversal at the very end of the round and applied a leg lock but did nothing with it. Again in round three Gabe got the takedown and sat in half mount. Somehow Sylvia reverses position, unloads strikes, gets a takedown, takes Gabe’s back and chokes him out all in the course of one minute to claim the title.
Sylvia/Wesley Correira: What a bout. This was unquestionably one of the best fights of 2002. Sylvia and Correira slugged it out in a bout the crowd truly enjoyed. Sylvia’s punches were accurate and deadly and Correira simply soaked up the punishment, refusing to tap. Finally, about two minutes into the second round Wesley’s corner had seen enough and threw in the towel.
Sylvia/Ricco Rodriguez: Tim fought a smart fight and took advantage of Ricco’s lack of confidence standing. He thwarted a takedown from Rodriguez and then slammed Ricco to the canvas. Once on the mat, Sylvia jammed a strike straight down the pike and finished Rodriguez in just over three minutes in the 1st round.
Sylvia/Gan McGee: Gan comes out with his hands low and wide open, as if he’s fighting your average 6-foot-2 wrestler and not a man who stares him in the eye and has serious striking ability. McGee avoids the first wave of punches but Sylvia continues to move in and cut off the ring. When he sees an opening, Tim hits him with two straight hands that score solid and send Gan to the canvas. A stunned McGee lies on his stomach taking six unanswered punches to the head until the bout is stopped.
Also worthy of note: Sylvia battled Ben Rothwell (win/dec).
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Size is usually Tim’s greatest strength. Sylvia’s stand-up striking looks solid. It was most evident in the “Cabbage” when he threw devastating combinations that would’ve easily dropped most heavyweights. And it’s not just heavy hands swinging in the breeze. Tim throws combinations and compliments them with knees to the body. When looking for a weakness, the majority of his wins are by KO or TKO so one has to question his ground game. However, he’s a Miletich fighter so you know his attack will be balanced.
HOW HE CAN BEAT MIR: With strikes on the feet. Tim moves forward and through people who do not like to strike. Ricco and Gan couldn’t take him down and they both paid for it. Good luck Frank.
>FRANK MIR (Photo Gallery): American Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stylist; wrestler; 1998 Nevada Wrestling Champion with a 43-1 record; HOOK’n’SHOOT veteran; IFC veteran; training with Ricardo Pires and the Las Vegas Combat Club; with a MMA record of 7-1; making his 7th appearance in the UFC (6-1).
: Having been taught the philosophy of Kempo by his parents as a boy, Mir added boxing, wrestling and finally Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to his training. He won a number of BJJ tournaments and competed in an Abu Dhabi-style tournament at a HOOK‘n’SHOOT event. There he defeated Rodrigo Vaghi heavyweight Mike Rogers and Renzo Gracie student John Rallo, only losing to wrestler and KOTC veteran Roger Neff.
Frank defeated Jerome Smith by decision in HOOK‘n’SHOOT and then traveled to the IFC where he submitted Dan Quinn at the IFC 15 Warriors Challenge show. Mir debuted at UFC 34 and carries a 6-1 record in the octagon. Mir, then a BJJ purple belt, disposed of BJJ black belt Roberto “Spider” Traven with a textbook armbar in just over a minute in his debut at UFC 34. In his second bout, Mir schooled Lion’s Den fighter Pete “El Duro” Williams (an eight-time UFC veteran) with a modified Kimura armbar from his back in under a minute. At UFC 38: The Brawl at the Hall in England, Mir tasted defeat for the first time. Ian “The Machine” Freeman, fighting at home in front of thousands of screaming English fans, broke Mir down and his heavy hands would not let up. The referee stopped the bout giving Freeman the win via TKO. Frank is on a three-fight winning streak, defeating octagon legend “Tank” Abbott and giant Hammer House wrestler Wes Sims twice(once by DQ).
Mir/Roberto Traven: In 2001 Mir made his Octagon debut at UFC 34: High Voltage where he armbarred Brazil’s Roberto “Spider” Traven in just over a minute.
Mir/Pete Williams: At UFC 36: Worlds Collide, Mir faced a member of the fabled Lion’s Den. Pete “El Duro” Williams was taken by surprise with a modified Kimura/shoulder lock and tapped out to Mir in under a minute.
Mir/Ian Freeman: At UFC 38: The Brawl at the Hall in England, Mir came in headstrong and found himself on the losing end of the battle for the first time in the Octagon. Ian “The Machine” Freeman had more than ample motivation to bring home the victory in his homeland and did just that. Freeman was able to shake off many valiant attempts at submission by Mir, including some unusual maneuvers rarely seem in MMA. The proud Englishman pounded Mir, forcing a stand up late in the first round. Frank did not respond and Big John was forced to stop the bout giving Freeman the win via TKO.
Mir/David Abbott: At UFC 41: Onslaught, Mir faced a challenge many (including myself) thought would go the same way it had in England. David “Tank” Abbott was returning to MMA and the crushing punching power in his hands was legendary. Rather play Abbott’s game, Mir quickly forced the action to the mat and submitted the brawler in under a minute. The fans were disappointed, I imagine the promoters were disappointed, but Mir did what he does best and came away with hardly a scratch.
Mir/Wes Sims: They met twice. In the first bout, Sims rushes in and immediately taken to the ground by Mir. Wes had a headlock but Frank quickly moves to north/south position and attacks an arm. Mir can’t get the arm but he stays busy on top landing knees and elbows to the head. From the mount Mir continues to punish Sims (possibly eye gouging him at one point) and he eventually turns him and takes Sims’ back. A rear-choke appears moments away but Sims is able to turn to his back. They fight with Mir in mount and he sets up for an armbar. Sims rises off the canvas and slams Mir once, shaking him off. But instead of waiting for Mir to get back up, Sims foolishly grabs the fence and stomps Mir in the face multiple times. The fight is called on disqualification and Mir is the winner. In the rematch, Mir and Sims fought a more balance bout and an exhausted Mir TKO’d the giant wrestler later in the second round.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Mir’s ground game is everything to him. He can strike on the feet but it is usually only done to set up a takedown. There is no other heavyweight in the UFC that has proven himself as efficient at applying submission holds as Mir. A weakness may be his mental preparation. Frank needs to be “up” for a fight. By his own admission he underestimated Ian Freeman and paid for it but he came back strong against “Tank” Abbott.
HOW HE CAN BEAT SYLVIA: By submission. Mir cannot effectively strike with Sylvia for very long. Tim is better striker than most anyone he has faced in his career. He has to get this fight grounded where he can attack one of the incredibly long limbs of Sylvia and work his magic on the mat.
MY PICK: Sylvia. Mir is likely the best submission fighter in the heavyweight division and he did a good job against Sims but Sylvia is a completely different giant. Tim is without question (no disrespect to the Hammer House) part of a far superior ground fighting camp and is twice the striker Sims was. Sylvia can stay on his feet when he wants to and that is likely the plan against someone as good on the mat as Mir. I feel it will be back to business for Tim and it will be Sylvia by KO late in the 1st Rd.
DOWN THE ROAD:
Mir/Valetijn Overeem: Both submission guys and both guys who aren’t anxious to trade on the feet. I’ve seen both look pretty good standing but this one has "ground war" written all over it.
Mir/Ricco Rodriguez: This was already supposed to happen and likely should happen before long if both stay in the U.S. The stand-up would just be an appetizer for the show on the floor.
Sylvia/Andre Arlovski: That’s if they can sign it before Sylvia leaves for PRIDE or K-1 MMA. This would unquestionably be a match-up of the two best heavyweights in the division at this time.
Sylvia/ Hirotaka Yokoi: I seriously doubt the UFC could steal him away from PRIDE but it would be nice to see a large Japanese heavyweight who could grapple and strike in the Octagon.