Frank Mir made it clear that he is set on breaking the 1-1 deadlock he has with UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar Friday during a Q and A session for fans after the WEC weigh-ins in San Antonio, Texas.
However, the former UFC heavyweight champion said he believed the pair wouldn’t be fighting for the belt should their third encounter happen in the near future. Mir told the crowd that he felt Shane Carwin would defeat Lesnar in their main event bout at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas. Noting Carwin’s strength, Mir stated that he did not believe Lesnar would be able to bully Carwin the way he did to him at UFC 100 last July.
When asked if he had spoken with Lesnar since the bout and their post-fight altercation, Mir said he had not, but that he was still planning on it.
“If I do what I have to do, I will get locked in the cage with him again and we will discuss it then,” said Mir, who is slated to face Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 on Dec. 12 in Memphis.
Mir declined to answer whether he was suffering from a knee injury during his loss to the brutish 2000 NCAA Div. I wrestling champion, which had postponed the bout by two-and-a-half months.
Shane Carwin was interviewed on fiveouncesofpain.com, here's what he said about Brock:
“Brock forgets there were no scripts issued with the bout agreements. He better be training for a war because I will be.” [Lame, Carwin playing the WWE-card. Brock worked there over 5 years ago..get over it ppl.]
“I feel like I have paid my dues and so have a lot of fighters waiting for their shot. Brock is what they call a “Draw”, he sells tickets, I am what they call a “Fighter”, I fight who I am told to fight the way my coaches train me too. We are different people and we treat people different. To me this sport is as much about respect and honor as it is paychecks sound bites.”
Another person of Carwin's team stated in an interview at fighthype.com that Carwin will KO Brock: Boxing and MMA coach Trevor Wittman. Here's what he said about Heavyweight Title bout:
Q: PC: How is big Shane Carwin doing in preparation for his title fight against Brock Lesnar?
Wittman: Shane is the next great thing in the heavyweight division. He is one of those guys that has one of the greatest training ethics, or should I say work ethics. The guy works a full-time job. The only thing about that that may hurt Shane is his resting. Maybe he doesn't get enough rest, which is always a big plus and you need to get it. But when it comes to his work ethic, he's a lot like me. I just can't go home and sit on the couch. I can take the day off; I sit on the couch and then its like, "God, I gotta do something." When you have that type of work ethic, it doesn't give you a chance to sit around and think of how big this guy is or how good his ground and pound is. It doesn't allow you to overthink the fight and sometimes, I think that can be an advantage because he's always got something on his plate. He gets in, he works hard and he puts enough time to what he needs to do, gameplanning it without overseeing it. Shane is the next big thing, bottom line. People say he hasn't fought anybody, but look man, this guy is so athletic, he's sound. We haven't even seen the real Shane because he's only been in there for a minute and a half and he's still fighting with the jitters. This guy only gets better as the rounds go on in the gym. When you watch him, it's hard to believe the guy is a heavyweight. The way he jump ropes and the way he moves is so fluid. I've been excited to see him go deeper into a fight so people could see what this guy brings to the table. Do I think we're going to win the world title? I know we're going to win the world title, no doubt in my mind. Shane Carwin will knockout Brock Lesnar!
Yahoo recently ran a Q&A with UFC president Dana White, here's what Dana said when they asked about Brock:
We sat down and talked. He came to an event, his people said, "We'd like to talk to you tonight." So we went into a back room, started talking and he says, "I want to fight in the UFC." I said, "Dude, you're 1-0. This isn't the place to learn how to fight. You fight in the smaller leagues and you work your way up." He said, "I just fought in a smaller league (K-1's 2007 card in Los Angeles). He said, "It was the worst experience of my life. Those people had no clue what they're doing, it was amateur. I want to be with you guys." The only reason I said yes was because of the athlete he is. He was one of the best college wrestlers in the country, he was a great athlete doing the WWE [expletive] he did and he almost made the Minnesota Vikings – they cut him because of his age, he was the last guy they cut. A guy who is that good of an athlete, and he has the star power that he had coming in behind him, I took a shot. You don't see me do that too often.