MMA Mind Power’s UFC 146 Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir Breakdown

Junior dos Santos vs. Frank Mir at UFC 146
And the Mind Power goes to…

Saturday, May 26, the UFC will be providing one of the most amazing cards ever at UFC 146. Not only will we be blessed with the potentially explosive dos Santos vs. Mir fight which promises to be one of the greatest heavyweight bouts ever, but the UFC went all out with a stacked card all the way from the very bottom of it. The long awaited return of Dan Hardy, the make-or-break fight for Jason “Mayhem” Miller, and the probable spectacular performance from Edson Barboza, Jr. would already be enough to make up a great event.

On top of that, we get Roy Nelson with his continuous journey to his slimmer and more established self, Cain Velasquez and Antonio Silva both with loads to prove to themselves, and then the epic main event.

So let’s look at the main event and which of the two heavyweights has the Mind Power.

Junior dos Santos

Junior is one of those fighters that is immensely humble, dedicated, and keeps his feet anchored down to the ground. He does not get involved in hype wars and he does not get lost in fame clouds. This is certainly one very positive aspect of his personality and will play in the champ’s favor on Saturday night.

The one not so positive thing is the fact that JDS’ only loss came by way of armbar. Also consider the fact that Mir defeated dos Santos’ hero and trainer Nogueira via devastating Kimura, which ended up breaking the Brazilian’s arm. This may represent a negative association for the champ and may require extra work on his confidence.

Frank Mir

The only very positive aspect of Mir’s personality is his seemingly apathetic attitude in most competitive situations. This is most probably the result of his long career in wrestling, where athletes often have to travel long distances, wait long periods of time in venues, and then fight whoever they are given to fight, often several fights in one day. This type of experience tends to condition an athlete’s mind for the better and allows him to remain more apathetic to other aspects. And Mir sure has long experience. In one year (1998), he went 44-1 in his wrestling career and won the state championship.

The other element to his favor is the win over Nogueira, which is certainly a confidence booster for the challenger. Beating your opponent’s master at his own game gives you that feeling that boosts your confidence a few big notches.

Conclusion

In terms of Mind Power, we give this one to Mir when it comes to confidence and being calm going into the fight. Mir will feel, in our opinion, more confident and more positive about the outcome of the fight. However, we believe that as the fight unfolds, Junior dos Santos will gain more and more confidence if he can keep the fight standing and this can potentially frustrate Mir.

If Mir can cut the distance early, this might not be an issue, but if the UFC heavyweight champ can keep Mir away at mid-range for more than two rounds, we feel that the balance will tip and Cigano will steel all the Mind Power and get the W.

Our Fight Pick

Junior dos Santos