• UFC 111

Mir barely respected Carwin before Gonzaga win

Shane Carwin was in deep trouble against Gabriel Gonzaga © UFC

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Frank Mir has confessed Shane Carwin barely registered on his radar until the NCAA national wrestling champion knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96.

On March 27 Carwin will be the man who stands between Mir and a reunion with UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, a man Mir wants to fight so much that he has been labelled a 'stalker' in recent months.

Carwin poses a very evident threat to Mir though after winning all 11 of his MMA fights, six of which came by knockout. However, it was only in the last of those victories, when Carwin picked himself up off the mat to knock out Gonzaga, that former heavyweight title holder Mir sat up and took notice.

"Before [Carwin's last fight] he went out there and destroyed people pretty quickly," said Mir ahead of UFC 111. "But there's been other heavyweights who have come out on the scene really fast, then the first time you see someone under any kind of adversity you really get to see whether or not they're going to make it.

"I've seen more than my share of potential guys crack under the first sign of it.

"That fight with Gonzaga, Gonzaga has fought for a title. He's a world class competitor and Shane was in trouble a little bit earlier in the fight and was actually in a very bad position.

"His back was on the ground, stuffed against the cage but Carwin was able to immediately get up to his feet and turned around and not even just survived, but actually, within 30 seconds of being in a bad spot, turned it around and came out victorious with a knockout.

"It impressed me immensely and that's when I realized that he was somebody to be reckoned with."

UFC 111 is live on ESPN UK. Subscription details can be found by clicking here.

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