Frank Mir open to fighting Anderson Silva at catchweight
by Natalia Baage on April 14, 2010

Another striking vs. jiu-jitsu fight might be in the mix as Frank Mir said that he would be willing to take on middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Now that UFC President Dana White has tossed the idea of Silva fighting welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (following Silva's UFC 112 bout), former heavyweight champion, Mir, has engaged the idea of a catchweight bout between him and The Spider.

"I would love the fight Anderson Silva!" Mir wrote to Fighters Only via text message. "I would even make it a 235 catch weight to make it more appealing to his manager and the commission."

While Silva has not commented on this bout idea, Mir's name had originally popped up when Silva initially spoke about moving into the heavyweight division last year.

If this fight happens, the two fighters will be going in the extreme opposite direction. For Silva, 235 pounds will be the heaviest weight he has ever fought at. He has twice competed at 205-lbs., winning both. However, for Mir, 235 pounds will be the lightest weight he has been stepping into the Octagon. With the 20 pounds of muscle that he has recently added to his frame, it might be a bit difficult for him to make such a large weight cut.

While Mir would have a significant size advantage over Silva, this fight has the potential of being a striking vs. jiu-jitsu battle. The former heavyweight champion is very confident with his improved boxing skills, and might engage Silva on the feet, however, he has a clear advantage on the ground, and might look to take it there at the soonest opportunity. In a recent interview, he stated that it might be best for him to stick to the things he knows he is good at (rather than bulk up or wrestle).

 |  (12) Comments Rob: Wow. I would actually really love to see this fight. How can people hate everything about Mir when he does things like this from time to time? Volunteering to fight Anderson Silva is not something to take lightly, and it's not something a lot of fighters would be willing to do, whether they admit it or not. But on top of being a very skilled fighter, Mir has balls, despite what everyone thinks of him. I guarantee you if this fight happens, Mir won't stand frozen in front of Silva too afraid to move like some of Silva's previous opponents....... TVolkert: Wait, so Mir puts on all that weight and now is willing to drop down to 235... Can he make 235 again? Storm: Sonnen is Andersons next opponent, but i say set this up. they really do need to use some sort of reverse psychology in hopes that Anderson picks things up. give him what he wants and see what happens. D_V: he can't make 235. whatever anyways. Just fight at heavy weight. they are about to show shogun destroying arona on spike best of pride, right on. thebutterflybee: Whilst I obviously agree with Rob's post above, I find this a little confusing. Frank said that the reason be put all the weight on was to competitive in the HW division. By saying he will trim down again is he subtly saying that he's giving up on the HW division? Dishonest John: I shake my head at this. Frank puts all that work into bulking up just to drop it again? I mean, the fight is intriguing, but that cant be healthy. Van Damn Hooda Man: I`m sorry but Anderson Silva`s recent "performance" is way too fresh in my mind, to care who he is fighting next. justinmw2008: i think it would be a grate match but the condishening of anderson movign up to heavyweight he might gass but good fight to watch
HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
Alves def. Kampmann via TKO/KO
Alves def. Kampmann via submission
Alves def. Kampmann via decision
Kampmann def. Alves via TKO/KO
Kampmann def. Alves via submission
Kampmann def. Alves via decision
TAKE ANOTHER POLL!