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View Full Version : Frank Mir's Return & Another Fight Confirmed For UFC 61



BDK
06-08-2006, 04:51 AM
Source: Matt Boone from MMANEWS


THE FOLLOWING IS AN ARTICLE FROM UFC.COM:

06/06/2006
Two Important Matchups Added to UFC 61 Card
By Thomas Gerbasi

There will be plenty on the line when UFC 61 – Bitter Rivals takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, July 8th, and not just in the featured bouts between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, and Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.

In an intriguing heavyweight clash, former UFC champion Frank Mir will hope that his second comeback fight is more successful than his first when he tackles emerging contender Dan Christison.

At UFC 57 in February, over 16 months after a severe leg injury put him on the shelf, Mir returned to the Octagon against Brazil’s Marcio Cruz and was stopped in the first round. But with five more months of training to get his game back to where it was before the injury, the Las Vegan is ready to once again make a statement in the heavyweight division.

Standing in his way will be 6-8, 265 pound Dan Christison, a member of the cast of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’, season two, who made a huge splash in the big show on April 6th when he submitted season two TUF finalist Brad Imes in the second round of an entertaining war that was one of the best fights of 2006 thus far.

Also added to the UFC 61 card is a meeting of two highly-regarded welterweight prospects, Josh Neer and Josh Burkman.

Neer, a member of the renowned Miletich Fighting Systems team, scored his second Octagon win in April when he upset season two TUF welterweight winner Joe Stevenson via a hard-fought three round unanimous decision. On that same show, Utah’s Burkman suffered his first UFC loss when he was submitted by Jon Fitch in the second round. With the talent-rich welterweight division heating up, the winner of this match will make huge strides up the 170-pound ladder.