• UFC 130

Shattered Nelson dominated by Frank Mir

ESPN staff
May 29, 2011
Frank Mir wants a title shot © Getty Images
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Frank Mir outclassed Roy Nelson in the co-main event at UFC 130, showing superior cardio, clinch work and striking to record a unanimous decision victory in the heavyweight division.

Mir had stated pre-fight that Nelson should be fighting at light-heavyweight, if he could only dedicate himself to a strict diet. Instead, Big Country arrived in the Octagon at 260lbs - matched by Mir - but one man was a naturally muscular heavyweight, while Nelson's chunky frame only served as a major hindrance.

For two of three rounds, Nelson could barely lift his arms, exhausted by endless clinch work that occasionally led to brutal knees out of the Thai clinch by Mir. It looked like the former UFC champion would end it in the first when he rocked his rival with one such knee, but Junior Dos Santos had failed to knock out Nelson, so Mir was not about to improve on the Brazilian's work.

Going into the deeper rounds, Nelson's only hope was his big right hand, but Mir took that away from him with beautiful tosses and takedowns against the cage. The only surprise was that Mir didn't find a submission after twice mounting the shattered Nelson, whose courage was the only thing he had left as the judges rendered a 30-27 30-27 30-26 decision.

"How many times did I knee him in the face, my God, he must have something in his chin," quipped a victorious Mir. "I'll keep improving, eventually get that title shot again."

Staying in the heavyweight division, Travis Browne guaranteed himself a huge leap up the ladder with a spectacular superman punch knockout victory over Stefan Struve. Picking his moment, Browne launched perfectly into the finishing blow to stop the fight at 4.11 of the first round. Struve had started well, landing a head kick before threatening with a D'Arce choke and an anaconda choke. However, when the fight returned to the vertical realm, the lanky Dutchman once against displayed weak defence as Browne lunged forward, pole-axing Struve for a spectacular highlight reel knockout.

The future of Thiago Alves is up in the air after he suffered a unanimous 29-28 decision loss to Rick Story, who has now won six on the bounce. Preying on Alves' Achilles heel - his wrestling, Story controlled the bout for two rounds, pressing his foe up against the cage looking for the takedown, whilst holding his own in the striking department. By round three Alves' left eye was heavily swollen, yet he made a late surge for victory, hurting Story with a knee and left hook. Nothing could stop Story coming forward though, and Alves was about the only man shocked when the final decision was rendered.

In the opening fight on the main card, Brian Stann confirmed his status as a huge contender in the middleweight division, knocking out Jorge Santiago midway through the second round. Having dropped Santiago earlier in the fight, Stann stayed in the pocket to display fearsome power in both hands. Santiago came into the bout off the back of a Fight of the Year victory over Kazuo Misaki, but his previous spell in the UFC had yielded a 1-2 record after defeats to Chris Leben and Alan Belcher. The Brazilian operates out of a Muay Thai background, yet he was given a striking lesson by Stann, who chopped into his left leg with brutal leg kicks before dropping him in round one with a mighty left hook. Santiago survived the ensuing onslaught, and he attempted to be the aggressor in the second round, but an attempted straight right left his chin open once again, allowing Stann to finish things with a counter right.

Full UFC 130 results:
Renan Barao bt Cole Escovedo unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Michael McDonald bt Chris Cariaso via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Gleison Tibau bt Rafaello Oliveira via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:28 of round 2
Tim Boetsch bt Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Demetrious Johnson bt Miguel Torres via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brian Stann bt Jorge Santiago via TKO at 4:29 of round 2
Rick Story bt Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Travis Browne bt Stefan Struve via KO at 4:11 of round 1
Frank Mir bt Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Quinton Jackson bt Matt Hamill via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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