UFC Fight Night 71: Duffee vs. Mir Date: July 15, 2015 Location: San Diego, California Venue: Valley View Casino Center Broadcast: FS1 UFC Heavyweight Contender Todd Duffee Todd Duffee (9-2) was at one point the hottest prospect in the UFC heavyweight division. The 29-year-old American rushed onto the UFC scene with a seven-second KO over Tim Hague in his debut and was considered a future title contender. However, he was then brutally knocked out by Mike Russow in a huge upset and was released from the UFC. He then lost to Alistair Overeem in Japan. After battling injuries, he returned to the cage and defeated journeyman Neil Grove in India to get another shot in the UFC. Since returning in 2013, he has fought only twice, but both fights were knockout wins for him, over Phil de Fries and Anthony Hamilton. He called out Frank Mir, and now the two big boys meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night 71 in what is the biggest test of Duffee’s career to date. UFC Heavyweight Contender Frank Mir Frank Mir (17-9) is one of the most decorated heavyweights in UFC history, having defeated the likes of Bigfoot Silva, Roy Nelson, Brock Lesnar, Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Tim Sylvia in his career. The former UFC heavyweight champion, Mir was once at the top of the division as as recently as 2012 was fighting for the title. However, he is on a steep decline and has lost four of his last five fights. Overall, he has lost seven fights by knockout, which is obviously not a good thing. He still has his exceptional BJJ (nine submission wins) and some power (four T/KO wins) but at 36 year of age it’s clear his chin can’t take shots anymore. In his last fight he proved he still has some gas in the tank as he knocked out Bigfoot Silva, but now he takes on a different creature altogether in Todd Duffee as the two heavyweights will meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night 71. Opening UFC Fight Night 71 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Duffee a -175 favorite (bet $175 to win $100) while Mir opened as a +135 underdog (bet $100 to win $135) at Several Bookmakers. Duffee hasn’t been very active in the last few years, but he does has two-straight first-round TKO wins since he returned to the UFC in 2013. He has a ton of knockout power, and if he is over his past injuries he is a darkhorse contender in the heavyweight division. Mir, on the other hand, had lost four-straight fights until his upset KO of Antonio Silva his last time out. He showed in that fight that he still has something left in the tank, although at his age and with the state of his chin he’s still a big liability. Duffee is the younger fighter and has been more consistent lately so he opens as the favorite, but in this fight between two big-swinging heavyweights, anything can happen.
