Frank Mir: I hit a lot harder than Junior dos Santos

With UFC on Fox 3 in the books, focus will now shift to the possibly epic clash of Heavyweights at UFC 146. The issue of Alistair Overeem‘s failed press conference drug test and subsequent suspension by the NSAC had dominated much of the MMA news conference in April, now the focus will shift to current title contender Frank Mir. This time last year, Mir was ranked lower than he currently is, scheduled to face Roy Nelson at UFC 130. After having been knocked out by Shane Carwin and then beating Mirko “Cro-cop” Filipovic in what many considered a lackluster affair, a title shot appeared far away for Mir. However, ironically it was at this time that he had the following to say about dos Santos:

“I’m a lot bigger than (Junior) Dos Santos and I hit a lot harder. I’m a taller, longer athlete … quicker; I’ll constantly pepper him with shots when he comes in and make him pay when I do hit him with something. When I hit Cheick Kongo, the punch alone threw him halfway across the Octagon. On the night of the fight, neither one of us are going to pull any punches. If I catch him with something, I’ll try to hurt him with it.” – via fightcove.com

Mir clearly believes that he has what it takes to defeat dos Santos, even in the stand-up game. That topic is up for debate, with dos Santos possessing 10 (T)KOs on his record to Mir’s 3. With dos Santos the clear favorite, it would appear that Mir’s best chance would be to utilize his world-class BJJ skills to look for the submission. Junior dos Santos only has one loss to his name, a submission by armbar. Is Mir looking to misdirect his true gameplan, or does he truly believe he can best dos Santos on the feet? Who will leave Las Vegas as the Heavyweight champion on May 26?