• UFC 146

Dos Santos is a 'throw punches & run' guy - Mir

ESPN staff
May 11, 2012
Frank Mir attacks like few others when the fight hits the mat © Getty Images
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Frank Mir has turned up the heat on Junior Dos Santos ahead of their UFC 146 main event, insisting the heavyweight champion has "no chance" of winning if the fight hits the mat.

Dos Santos has had one or two things to say about Mir ahead of their May 26 title battle, labelling the challenger's boxing "average". He also claimed Mir's courage "goes out the window" as soon as somebody applies pressure to him.

However, in what promises to be a real striker-v-grappler encounter, Mir appears to be attacking the ego of Dos Santos in an attempt to lure him to the ground, where Mir has an undoubted advantage. The American claims Dos Santos is scared of engaging in a jiu-jitsu battle, and he states that the champion has got no idea what he is doing once the fight hits that area of the battle.

"When you fight Dos Santos, I don't think it's any secret, he has no chance of winning the fight if it goes to the ground," Mir told Inside MMA.

"The only time I've ever seen him take a shot is when he's pretty handily winning the fight and I think he just does it just to... maybe a change of pace to throw people off their game.

"But you see when people engage him, he's a 'throw punches and run' kind of guy and he's not going to sit there and get taken down and fight that battle.

"If he was capable of doing it, we'd probably have seen it already. Fact is, he avoids it like it's poison."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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