UFC 146 Keeps Getting Bigger: Cain Velasquez-Frank Mir Title Eliminator Added to Card

Frank Mir

Another heavyweight bout added to May 26 show

Just before the UFC’s heavyweight belt is contested in the UFC 146 main event, two former champs will fight for the right to get the next crack at it.

Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir have agreed to meet at the UFC’s annual Memorial Day weekend card in Las Vegas in what will be a heavyweight title eliminator fight. UFC officials announced the fight Wednesday, saying verbal agreements are in place.

UFC 146 will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and features a main event heavyweight title fight between champion Junior dos Santos and top contender Alistair Overeem, the former Strikeforce heavyweight champ. The Velasquez-Mir winner is expected to face the winner of that title fight, likely later in the year.

Velasquez (9-1, 7-1 UFC) won the heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010. But after more than a year off due to injuries, he lost the belt to dos Santos at the first UFC on Fox event last November. It was the first loss of his career after starting  9-0 with eight knockouts, including three Knockout of the Night bonus awards.

Velasquez was a two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State alongside current UFC fighters Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway. In the run-up to his title win over Lesnar, Velasquez had stoppage wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Ben Rothwell, plus a decision victory over Cheick Kongo – the only time he’s been taken the distance.

Mir (16-5, 14-5 UFC) has won three straight and four of his last five fights, the only loss coming by knockout against Shane Carwin in a UFC 111 interim heavyweight title fight. At UFC 140, Mir became the first person to submit Brazilian legend Nogueira, snapping his arm in the process for a Submission of the Night bonus. It was Mir’s second win over “Big Nog” after beating him by TKO at UFC 92.

Mir first won the UFC heavyweight title when he broke Tim Sylvia’s arm at UFC 48. But he had to vacate the title after a motorcycle accident left him unable to compete again for more than 18 months. He won the interim UFC heavyweight title at UFC 92 against Nogueira, then lost it in a unification bout against Lesnar at UFC 100.

Along with the main event heavyweight title fight and the title eliminator bout, UFC 146 features a heavyweight bout between Roy Nelson and Antonio Silva; a middleweight bout between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and C.B. Dollaway; a welterweight bout between Dan Hardy and Duane Ludwig; lightweight fights between Paul Sass and Jacob Volkmann and Edson Barboza and Evan Dunham; and a heavyweight bout between Gabriel Gonzaga and Shane del Rosario.