Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira To Coach On "The Ultimate Fighter 8"

Spike TV and the UFC announced today that the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" would feature Frank Mir and currently interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as the two coaches. Season seven of the show, which features Forrest Griffin and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, is currently being aired.

Season eight of the show will be filmed between May 18th and June 28th, and will air starting in September of 2008 according, to Spike TV. According to Dave Meltzer, Mir and Nogueira should square off for the interim heavyweight championship on the UFC's New Year's Eve weekend card.

Spike TV also said that the show will return to its original format of two tournaments in different weight classes, with the eighth season featuring eight lightweights and eight light heavyweights.

Frank Mir currently sports a record of 11-3-0 and is a former UFC heavyweight champion. He earned a shot at the interim heavyweight title after scoring a surprising first round victory against Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 - Breaking Point. Previous to that, Mir submitted Antoni Hardonk via submission in the first round of their fight at UFC 74 - Respect.

Mir has publicly downplayed talk of an "easy" victory against Lesnar, saying that Lesnar kicked his ass. Mir has said that his match against Lesnar forced him to change the way that he trains for fights, as he now incorporates more heavy weights into his routine so that he won't be so easily overpowered against stronger opponents.

Mir has scored some impressive victories in his career against the likes of Tim Sylvia, Wes Sims and Brock Lesnar.

That being said, Mir will have his hands full when he takes on the man they call "Minotauro". Nogueira is considered by many to be the second best heavyweight fighter in the world behind Fedor Emelianenko.

Fedor and Nogueira have fought three times in the past, with Fedor winning two of the fights via unanimous decision. One of the fights was declared a No Contest after an accidental cut stopped the fight.

Nogueira has a lifetime MMA record of 31-4-1, with 19 of his victories coming via submission. He has won his last three fights, including a third round submission victory against Tim Sylvia in which he claimed the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship (Randy Couture is still considered to be the legitimate UFC heavyweight champion, but has "retired" due to a contract squabble with the company).

As mentioned, Nogueira has lost four times in his career - twice to Fedor, once to Josh Barnett via split decision (a loss that he later avenged) and once to Dan Henderson in 2000 (he avenged this loss too). He has beaten some impressive opponents over his career, including the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Filipovic and Dan Henderson. There is a reason why many consider Nogueira to be one of the top heavyweight fighters in the world.

This will be an extremely interesting fight, and I always can't wait to see these two coach on the Ultimate Fighter. Both men are submission specialists, and Mir especially strikes me as being the type of guy who would be a very good teacher. I think that the UFC made two strong choices here, and I am looking forward to seeing these two square off against one another at the end of 2008.

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