UFC officially announces "UFC 98: Lesnar vs. Mir II" for May

[mx8692]

The UFC today officially announced UFC 98 and a rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir (12-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC).

The two champions will unify the titles at a pay-per-view event on May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The event is also expected to feature the long-awaited match-up between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, as well as lightweights Frank Edgar vs. Sean Sherk and welterweights Chris Wilson vs. Josh Koscheck.

Tickets for the event, which range from $75 to $800, go on sale to the general public beginning this Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m. EST.

UFC Fight Club members can participate in a pre-sale beginning Thursday, March 5, at 1 p.m. EST, and UFC.com newsletter subscribers can buy tickets beginning Friday, March 6, at 1 p.m. EST.

Lesnar and Mir first met in early 2008 at UFC 81. In just his second professional fight, Lesnar faced the former UFC champion, who had been a shell of his former self since a serious motorcycle injury in 2004.

However, after being battered for a minute and a half with Lesnar's damaging ground and pound, Mir slapped on a kneebar and forced Lesnar to tap out in the first round. It remains the only loss of Lesnar's career.

Since that original meeting, Lesnar defeated Heath Herring to earn a title shot with Randy Couture, whom he TKOd at UFC 91. Mir, meanwhile, defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92 to win the interim title.

"Brock Lesnar has been calling for a rematch with me ever since I beat him the first time," Mir stated. "All I can say to Brock is be careful what you wish for because I'm a better, smarter, stronger and faster fighter than I was the last time. He won’t be able to push me around like he's done (to) smaller opponents, and I'm looking forward to becoming undisputed champion again."

The latest rumored card now includes:

* Champ Brock Lesnar vs. interim champ Frank Mir (heavyweight title unification)
* Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
* Frank Edgar vs. Sean Sherk
* Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Wilson
* Kyle Bradley vs. Phillipe Nover
* James Irvin vs. Drew McFedries
* Brandon Wolff vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
* Houston Alexander vs. Andre Gusmao
* Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
* David Kaplan vs. George Roop

FInally !! Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra ... oh man cant wait for this one... there is bad blood between these 2.. I hope Mir Wins again but i doubt it... Brock Belongs in the super heavy wheight... with butter bean..lol.

[cydogg]

Awesome time for Mir to make him look like a rookie again.

[CoFree]

it could be a good fight

[cydogg]

it will be for about 3-4 minutes. brock has already said he will win the fight on the ground. if he thinks that he is a fool. mir is probably the best jujitsu heavyweight in MMA.

[CoFree]

if his big ass takes it to the ground you are right he will get beat

[cydogg]

and the undercard for this event will probably suck ass. they are trying to save alot of big fights for the 100th show.

[HaGGardSmurf]

I 'dislike' both mir and lesnar. Mir is just a prick, dont like him. Brock, should in no way be the champ, he has only been with the UFC for how long?

[cydogg]

Well I think Mir and his confidence are misunderstood. I mean the dude came back from a near fatal crash and some emotional problems due to the loss of his abilities. He persevered and now he is the champ again. Back when he was champ the first time I told my friends he wouldn't be beaten. Now he just has to keep it goin. He is also maybe the most knowledgable fighter in MMA. Have you ever heard him on WEC doin the commentary. He is the best at analyzing fights and the strategies employed by fighters. MMA is about styles and Brock will dominate anyone in MMA outside of a JJ fighter. Any wrestler or standup fighter, Brock will destroy just due to his awesome strength and surprising speed for such a big guy. Heath Herring is no joke and Brock made hime look pathetic. So Brock is definitely legit. You don't beat Couture if you are a slouch.

[HaGGardSmurf]

I knew someone would bring up mir's vast Knowledge of the sport. I respect him for this, I know he is VERY MMA smart.

I myself play sports very technical, in competitive sports, most people just 'go with the flow' so its easy to know where theyre going to go and what theyre going to do next, in which case I usually stop them.

I just dont like Mir's attitude, what made me really not like it, was UFC nogueira vs mir. His attitude was quite poor during the show, and what put it over the top was the soccer challenge. Neither are good at the sport (English football) but mir basically said that it was a dumb challenge because nogueira's national sport is soccer (english football). Nogueira was horrible at the challenge, yet mir did worse, and he just said whatever, im still the f***in' man, its cause the challenge sucked that I didnt win... I personally hate this type of attitude.

Yes I know he was in a bike accident and nearly died, and he wife wouldn't let him give up when he was about to, and in turn returned to fight in the UFC. It is an inspirational story, but I still dont like him all that much.

I believe brock is a great fighter simply because of his huge size advantage. I just dont think he should have advanced in rank to fast. I mean he was such a rookie in his MIR fight, he got caught in the simplest submission ever, and lost because of it. 'real' champs would know better then to step over a guy when he is on the ground... I just dont believe he should have gone up in ranks so fast. I think he should have fought a few more fights first, or trained purely MMA for a while.

[CoFree]

you guys have ggod points.

we shall see who come out on top.
hahaha

you guys are getting me all worked up about it.

[HaGGardSmurf]

haha well 96 is on tomorrow, I buy them and record them on my PVR

I think I will be going to the bar and watching it, so good thing I am recording it, I probably wont remember all of it

[CoFree]

crap
they just canceled the fight
Mir blew out his knee
so they have pushed the fight back .

aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
carp

[mx8692]

Well They Pushed the Fight back till July, Mir Blew his Knee....Brock Belongs in a super Heavey wheight class, Dude is to big... It's Fooked Up When Fighters Go on the Scale and go over by a pound or two and they have to go and lose it for the fight to happen... But it's ok for Brook to go into a fight with 20-30 pounds Bigger than his oppnent... I dont think that's fare...He can end up Hurting someone Bad..... I would like to see Congo fight Brock...

[CoFree]

well
i think there should be a unlimited class

[HaGGardSmurf]

Well They Pushed the Fight back till July, Mir Blew his Knee....Brock Belongs in a super Heavey wheight class, Dude is to big... It's Fooked Up When Fighters Go on the Scale and go over by a pound or two and they have to go and lose it for the fight to happen... But it's ok for Brook to go into a fight with 20-30 pounds Bigger than his oppnent... I dont think that's fare...He can end up Hurting someone Bad..... I would like to see Congo fight Brock...

Congo vs brock would be interesting hahaha.