UFC 119 on Saturday, September 25th in Indianapolis Indiana is an important fight to determine the career futures for 
both former heavyweight champion Frank Mir with a professional record of (11-6) and Mirco “Cro Cop” Filipovic (27-7-2). Cro Crop is the Pride 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix Champion.
Mirko is a Croatian law enforcement officer turned kick boxer turned mixed martial artist who was very successful in pride but has had his ups and downs in the UFC. Mir and “Cro Cop” were both considered at one time to be among the world’s best heavyweights but after two recent losses suffered by Mir to Shane Carwin and UFC heavy weight Champion Brock Lesnar, fans are wondering, ‘Is it Frank’s time to retire?
Mir is an accomplished black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Kenpo karate, but sees his bout with “Cro Cop” taking place on the feet, at least to start with. Mir believes that “Cro Cop” is still dangerous and that his poor performances have been a result of the level of aggressiveness displayed by fighters in the UFC.
“I think ‘Cro Cop’ has a good sprawl, he has good double underhooks,” Mir said. “I think if I were to try to just drop and shoot on him, he would stop my shot.”
I think standing up with him is actually the route to go at first and then eventually when you work in the clinch, going to the ground is obviously a lot easier to do with him then. The biggest question is how much more these two fighters have to offer; this fight will bring one man closer to redemption and send one further down the road toward retirement.
The co-main event on this card will showcase Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3) a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Mixed Martial Artist who is also the twin brother of legendary Antonio Minotauro Nogueira.
Nogueira was the 2006 and 2007 Brazilian Super Heavyweight Champion and won a bronze medal in the 2007 Pan American Games. Undefeated Ryan Bader (11-0) is the ultimate fighter Season 8 heavyweight winner who is facing his toughest opponent yet in Little Nog. The two light heavyweights will be fighting for a chance to move further up the 205lb ladder positioning themselves closer to a title shot.
MMA veteran Nogueira is undefeated in the UFC, following up an impressive knockout win over Luis Cane, and a controversial split-decision win over Jason Brilz. Bader is undefeated in eleven professional mixed martial arts contests and owns a four-fight UFC win streak that he most recently prevailed against a very tough and experienced Keith Jardine with an impressive knock out win.
Two great under card fights are also on this card, one being Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham. Dunham is an up and coming 28-year-old jiu-jitsu practitioner with an (11-0) professional record and has had great success in the lightweight division so far with victories over Tyson Griffen, Marcus Aurelio and Efrain Escudero. But Dunham is about to face his toughest and most dangerous opponent to date. Sherk, the 37-year-old Former UFC Champion has a professional record of (34-4-1) and those four losses were to the who’s who in MMA including current UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, former lightweight champion B.J. Penn, welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and former welterweight champion Matt Hughes.
Don’t miss this fight! This could be the fight of the night, Matt Sera vs. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle.
The first time these two fought was four years ago when Serra earned a split decision to win Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter. Since then Serra has become a champion and then an ex-champion, while Lytle has become the guy who fights every time like he’d rather earn a bonus check than a victory. Look for Lytle to put on a show and try an earn fight or knock out of the night.
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Used with permission of the author.
Scott Medeiros is a Florida-based MMA fighter and sportswriter covering the sport. For a competitor/fan’s point of view and pre and post fight info, updates, and the latest buzz surrounding MMA, follow Scott on Sports Climax. In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, his material can also be found on American Top Team’s website. Email Scott @ skizberry@aol.com.
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