Frank Mir, the UFC heavyweight who coached on this season of The Ultimate Fighter, says he thought one of this season's competitors, Junie Browning, was such a poor example that he wouldn't let his children watch the show.But Mir thinks highly of most of the rest of the young fighters he coached, including the two lightweights who will fight in Saturday night's finale, Efrain Escudero and Phillipe Nover.
When I talked to Mir this week, he told me he thinks Escudero and Nover are good young men with great futures ahead of them in MMA. And he said their fight is going to be a good match-up -- and a tough one to predict.
"I don't know who's going to win," Mir said.
"Both guys are extremely talented. I'm edging toward Efrain, just because he's a superior grappler and can take down Phillipe. Most of the guys who had a hard time with Phillipe stood in front of him. He punches really hard. Efrain comes from a great training camp up there in Arizona, so he'll be well prepared, and I don't see Efrain standing right in front of him."
I mentioned to Mir that most people expect Phillipe, who has been compared to Anderson Silva, to win. Mir said he thinks people are underestimating how smart and skilled Efrain is.
"I think everyone thinks Efrain is going to get run over," Mir said. "I like Philippe, and I hope he has a great career because he's what a martial artist is supposed to be: He's humble, he's nice, he's hard working. But Efrain is the same way. They're both great examples of what a martial artist should be."
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