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Frank Mir was scheduled to take on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a heavyweight fight in UFC 119. This was to be a rematch of the the fight which labeled Mir as the interim heavyweight champion. I’m not sure why this rematch was of interest to anyone – not sure why Mir or Nogueria would take the fight because a win wouldn’t put them closer to a title shot and a loss would definitely take them out of the title picture.

Then Nogueira got hurt and Mir was placed in the unenviable position of having to fight another heavyweight with a lot more to lose.

Maybe that was the reason why Mir took such a cautious approach to the fight last night. There is no doubt that Mir’s performance last night was lackluster at best – and most definitely not worthy of any fight night bonus (knockout of the night).

So what impact did last night’s fight have on the heavyweight division?  In a word – None.

Mir has not improved his standing in the heavyweight division or moved closer to a title shot.  The question for the UFC is who is Mir going to fight next?  Will there be another rematch with Nogueira?  If so, why?  The next heavyweight that is in line for a title shot after Cain Velasquez is Junior Dos Santos – do look for Mir to face Dos Santos, that would make Mir a “gate-keeper” and that isn’t good for Mir or for the UFC.  It also doesn’t seem to make sense to have Mir face Shane Carwin

So are we going to see Mir face Gabriel Gonzaga?  Maybe, that seems to be the only top-tier heavyweight that Mir hasn’t faced recently and which would make sense.

And what can we expect for CroCop?  Well, it isn’t likely that the UFC will cut CroCop after this fight.  CroCop stepped in and “took one for the team” and helped the UFC save the event. But CroCop’s performance shows that his days in the UFC are numbered – like maybe one more fight. There aren’t any heavyweights that CroCop can face and justify his purse.

The most notable change in the UFC heavyweight division that we will see as a result of UFC 119 is that CroCop is on his way out and Mir doesn’t have many viable opponents.