• UFC news

Schaub predicts Mir would defeat Velasquez

ESPN staff
February 17, 2012
Brendan Schaub has massive respect for Frank Mir © Getty Images
Enlarge

Heavyweight talent Brendan Schaub admits he would have to pick Frank Mir to upset Cain Velasquez if their battle is made official by the UFC.

Mir and Velasquez appear to be on collision course after Lorenzo Fertitta hinted at the battle on Twitter. Asked which opponent would be next for Mir, Fertitta simply replied: "Cain".

The bout is far from official, but it would hold plenty of interest for Schaub, who was on the cusp of the UFC's top five heavyweights before he lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

The Hybrid, speaking ahead of his May trip to England for The MMA Show Live, confirmed he would love to fight both men in the future. However, if he was forced to pick a winner, Mir's jiu-jitsu gets the nod.

"That's a great fight. I wasn't aware of that. That's the first I've heard of it," Schaub said in a recent interview with ESPN.

"Frank Mir, for me, is one of the best in the business, I'd probably have to give the edge to Frank for this fight. Cain's an absolute beast, he's coming off a loss and I think we'll see a new Cain coming off a loss.

"But what a great fight. Tough one to pick. Mir offers a lot of problems for Cain and he's not the type of guy you want to take down. His stand-up's looking better every fight, so if I had to pick, I'd go Mir.

"Both of those guys are on my radar, I'll focus on Ben Rothwell and then start thinking about those guys later."

Follow Ben Blackmore on Twitter

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices