Winslow Townson USA TODAY Sports
The UFC continues to add to an already impressive lineup for their 20th anniversary event in November. The latest addition to UFC 167 is a crossroads heavyweight fight between Alistair Overeem and Frank Mir. The matchup seems to make a great deal of sense; with both high-profile heavyweights mired in losing skids, someone will be able to resurrect their careers with a victory on November 16.
Mir, a former UFC heavyweight champ, is on a three-fight slide after a recent first-round TKO loss against Josh Barnett at UFC 164. There were some, including UFC president Dana White, who felt the stoppage was a tad premature, although it was clear Barnett had inflicted some serious damage at the time the fight was stopped. During the skid, Mir has also been defeated by Daniel Cormier and Junior dos Santos.
Meanwhile, Overeem is also desperate for a victory as he’s dropped his last two fights by way of TKO. He was most recently stopped in the first round by Travis Browne in a thrilling fight at UFC Fight Night 26. Overeem was remarkably close to recording a stoppage in that fight, but Browne’s perseverance paid off as he weathered a massive onslaught from the “Reem” before staging a remarkable comeback.
Overeem was also blasted out by Antonio Silva, and just hasn’t been the fighter the UFC thought they had when he destroyed Brock Lesnar at UFC 141.
The matchup is about as basic as it can possibly be — win the fight, or your UFC career will likely come to an end.
It’s also quite a contrast in style, pitting the devastating power of Overeem against the tremendous submission skills of Mir. With a card already featuring a welterweight title fight between Georges St. Pierre and Johny Hendricks, and a co-main of Chael Sonnen versus Rashad Evans, the event is shaping up to be a tremendous one for UFC fans to enjoy.
Rick LaFitte is an MMA Writer for Rant Sports
