UFC 107 Preview: Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo

Frank Mir (12-4, 10-4 UFC) vs. Cheick Kongo (14-5-1, 7-3 UFC)

The Story So Far

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir takes a break from his unhealthy obsession with Brock Lesnar to do battle with French kickboxer Cheick Kongo in the co-main event of UFC 107. Both men are coming off of losses in their last Octagon appearances and will be looking to get back on the winning track with a victory Saturday night.

Returning to action for the first time since getting his face caved in by Brock Lesnar at UFC 100, Mir begins the long road back to a title shot with a stern test in the heavy-handed Kongo. Since that loss, Mir has put a new focus on strength training as he enlisted the services of former U.S. Strongman representative and UNLV strength coach, Mark Phillippi.  Mir has stated in interviews that his superior technique was effectively neutralized by the larger, more powerful Lesnar and that's an area he aims to improve. 

After getting laid-on smothered defeated by Cain Velasquez this past June, Kongo's ground deficiencies were on full display yet again as his inability to defend even the weakest of takedown attempts continuously deny him the ability to gain positive traction in the crowded heavyweight field. Kongo has had a bit of an up-and-down career in the UFC and while amassing an impressive 7-3 Octagon record, he lacks a career-defining win. I'm aware he defeated Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 75, but considering Cro Cop's recent performances, that victory doesn't look as good in hindsight. A dominating win here over a former UFC Heavyweight champion might be enough to lift Kongo out of his current gatekeeper status and into possible title contention in 2010.

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Conventional Wisdom

Despite his proclamations to the contrary, any sane individual would have to believe that Mir has no intention of standing with Kongo and duking it out on the feet. If there's anybody out there who thinks Mir will want to trade strikes with Kongo, I've got an igloo in Nevada I'd like to sell you. While much improved, Mir's striking ability is light years behind Kongo's and he'd be absolutely foolish to want to test out those skills against a former Muay Thai World champion.

WKR Analysis

Kenny Florian believes Kongo will pull the upset but he may be in the minority. This is one of those classic striker vs. grappler match-ups where the advantage goes to the fighter who is more well-rounded.  Unquestionably, that fighter is Frank Mir.  In fact, this seems like a tailor-made rebound fight for Mir who is facing an opponent with good name value but a lacking skill-set. As Mir said in the Countdown show, he has 15 minutes to take Kongo down once. There's little chance of this one making it to the judge's scorecards though as Mir will be looking to make it a quick night's work by latching onto one of Kongo's limbs as soon as he can get it to the ground.

Despite his last loss, Mir should be coming into this fight supremely confident. He knows that as long as he doesn't get knocked out cold he has a great shot at winning. There is a very real likelihood that if Mir gets knocked down by a punch and Kongo follows him to the ground, Mir will be able to catch him in a submission. If Kongo could gain even the smallest bit of a ground game he could be a real contender but currently his lack of ground skills makes Houston Alexander look like Shinya Aoki in comparison.

Another aspect to watch for in this bout is the effects of Mir's added bulk. According to various reports, Mir has added about 20 pounds of muscle to his frame since working with Mark Phillippi and it should be interesting to see what Mir's conditioning looks like in the second or third round if the fight goes that far (note: It won't). 

Fun Fact

Throughout his nine year MMA career, Cheick Kongo has never been submitted. Could we see it happen for the first time Saturday night?