Frank Mir shocks Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via TKO at UFC 92

The most shocking result at UFC 92 by far was Frank Mir’s second round TKO stoppage of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.  Nogueira was the overwhelming favorite coming into the fight and had never been stopped inside the distance during a career where he’d faced the best of the best:  Fedor Emelianenko (three times), Josh Barnett (twice), Semmy Schilt and Mirko Cro Cop among many others.   In the matchup to fill the Interim UFC title vacated by Randy Couture, Nogueira had absorbed a punching barrage from Tim Sylvia before gaining a submission victory.

Mir, meanwhile, had been on the verge of a full time move to the broadcast booth before his victory over WWE superstar turned MMA fighter Brock Lesnar.   The conventional wisdom concerning Mir was that he’d never fully recovered from a serious motorcycle accident in 2004 and that he was essentially a “shot fighter” physically, emotionally and psychologically.  He eventually returned to the octagon, and after two TKO losses in his first three comeback fights began to consider the possibility that he just “didn’t have it” any more.  A victory over highly regarded contender Antonio Hardonk along with his upset of Lesnar—combined with a weak UFC heavyweight roster—put Mir back into title contention.

Despite his recent success, however, most pundits gave him little chance against former PRIDE heavyweight king Nogueira.  Nogueira was Mir’s equal in groundfighting and submission skills, plus had a track record of general toughness along with a granite chin that had resulted in him never being stopped or submitted in a professional MMA match.  Most thought that Mir would not only lose, but that the match would be embarrassingly one sided.

The fight was certainly one-sided, but it was Mir who was in control throughout.  From the opening horn he demonstrated surprisingly sharp striking skills, and knocked Nogueira down twice in the first round.  Not expecting a solid standup offense, Nogueira looked downright lost in the later stages of the first round as Mir doubled and tripled up his jab and threw impressive punching combinations to go with low kicks and occasional takedown attempts. 

Though Mir appeared in full control of the fight as the second round began, the end would come with startling suddenness and brutality.  After a low kick attempt by Nogueira, Mir’s counter tagged his opponent and he followed up with a big right hook that sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas.  Herb Dean jumped in to stop the fight almost immediately, awarding Mir an improbable TKO victory at 1:54 seconds of round #2. 

Mir has long been derided for his cockiness and apparent lack of interest in conditioning at various points in his career.  He looked to be in great shape against Nogueira, and was refreshingly candid in his post fight comments noting:

“I've never been more afraid in my life than when I walked into the ring. I didn't even think I could beat Nogueira."

Mir not only beat Nogueira, he did so decisively by doing what no one before him had been able to—stopping him inside the distance.  With his victory over the Interim Heavyweight Champion, Mir will now meet UFC Heavyweight Champ Lesnar in a rematch early in 2009.