Brock Lesnar: Mir Fought Wrestler at UFC 81, Fights Fighter at UFC 100

By Michael David Smith - Lead Blogger

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When Brock Lesnar faced Frank Mir at UFC 81 on February 2, 2008, it looked in the first few seconds like your typical case of a bigger, stronger guy whipping his smaller, weaker opponent, as Lesnar took Mir down and pounded on him.

But then things changed dramatically, and it looked in the last few seconds like your typical case of a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt fighting a Brazilian jiu jitsu white belt: Lesnar left his leg exposed, and Mir had no trouble getting him in a kneebar and forcing him to tap.

So with one day to go before Lesnar gets his rematch with Mir at UFC 100, Lesnar says he knows he needs to approach the fight differently than he did the last one: He says he has to be a complete mixed martial artist, and not just a big, strong wrestler.

"It's been a year and a half since our last bout, and the big difference this time is Frank is actually fighting a fighter," Lesnar said on ESPN First Take. "The first time he was fighting a wrestler. I've got more experience, more time in the Octagon, and patience is the key. I've got 25 minutes to win this bout, but I don't think it's going to take that long. ... I think maybe first round, second round, we're going to finish this fight."

I don't doubt at all that Lesnar has improved significantly since his fight with Mir, but I think Mir has improved, too. And that's why I'm picking Mir to pull off the upset.

Read More: brocklesnar, frankmir, ufc 100, ufc 81, ufc100, ufc81, Brock Lesnar (MMA), Frank Mir (MMA)

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