In the recent months, the UFC’s Heavyweight division has come under fire as being a division that is slowly losing its luster. Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Randy Couture, and Jake O’Brien have all departed by way of contract issues, being cut from the promotion, or feeling disrespected. In any case, the division needs a kick in the pants, and it needs some publicity behind it to get fans buying up pay-per-views featuring the big men as well as tuning into The Ultimate Fighter due to their presence.
Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira and Frank Mir are both rumored to be in the final stages of being tabbed as coaches on the show. Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch are also in the running as well from earlier reports, but I wanted to focus on the heavyweight rumors due to the community disagreement with the rumor.
Is Frank Mir a good choice? Many fans are stating that both fighters are terrible choices for the reasons that pertain to their end of the series showdown in a potential title fight. Some fans believe it’s a terrible fight for Mir to suddenly take on, and others hate the fact that the UFC Heavyweight brass will be tied up much like the other title pictures were in other seasons. The fact of the matter is that the UFC still needs to build stars to maintain the success that they’ve brought to themselves, and this is the way to do it. We’ve already sat through multiple title pictures being on hold due to the show, and it won’t be any different here. The only saving grace is that the division really doesn’t have a clear cut contender.
With that said, Mir is a good choice for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, he can have an abrasive attitude that could produce some interesting conversations and disagreements on the show. Whether you reference his comments related to breaking bones of his opponents in pre-fight interviews or the fact that he has come off as elitist in other interviews, it could make for good television. Even if we see a more intelligent Frank Mir on the show, his vast knowledge of the jiu-jitsu game will only help the fighters on the show perform even better.
The bigger problem that fans have expressed is with Antonio Nogueira. I believe he’s being undervalued by much of the fanbase in being a coach on the show. Sure, he’s Brazilian, speaks with an accent and in his Brazilian tongue mostly, but he has very good English. He also happens to be one of the toughest fighters to ever grace the ring/cage, and I think it would break new ground for the UFC to bring in a Brazilian fighter. I would also wonder if the UFC would potentially look toward Brazil for more prospects because he would be participating.
To be perfectly honest, Nogueira’s exposure on SpikeTV is the more important aspect to his coaching assignment. He’s likely going to hold the belt for a substantial amount of time, and the UFC should definitely be keen on promoting him as much as they can to the fight fans out there. He is, after all, a legend of the sport, and if some type of personality can come out of him during the show, he could gain some fans through the process. Subsequently, we could see slightly bigger draws for those events in which he is featured.
Although I don’t believe it is the absolute best choice for The Ultimate Fighter 8, it’s definitely not a wash. Mir is intelligent in what he knows about the ground game and MMA in general, and he knows how to persevere through life’s tragedies and tests on the human mind and body. Nogueira is also a master at his trade, and he’s been through tough trials and tribulations in his career as well and his personal life at a young age. Don’t doubt for a minute that the UFC won’t push those stories for fans to eat up with a spoon. They both should make the fighters on the show much better in their respective skillsets as well.