It is no secret that UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and contender Frank Mir have a bitter relationship, to say the least. However, Mir will have to get through heavyweight powerhouse Shane Carwin (11-0) at UFC 111 before he can enact his dream of regaining the undisputed heavyweight title from Lesnar.

Frank Mir

On Saturday, Mir will have the chance to guarantee himself the next shot at Lesnar with a win over Carwin in a bout, scheduled for five rounds, for the interim heavyweight championship. The fight is scheduled as the co-main event of the evening at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev., Mir is a former UFC heavyweight and interim heavyweight champion. Mir, a black belt in kenpo karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, currently trains with Team Sityodtong in Boston, Massa., under owner and head trainer Mark DellaGrotte. He earned his black belt in BJJ under Ricardo Pires after only five years of training.

Currently holding a professional MMA record of 13-4, Mir is an accomplished grappler and renowned submission artist whose standup has drastically improved with each appearance in the octagon. He is the 2007 NAGA absolute division champion. Of his 13 victories, eight have come by way of submission.

After winning the UFC championship in a match with Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 in 2004, at the age of 25, Mir faced a potentially career ending injury. He was left with a broken femur and torn ligaments in his knee after a motorcycle accident, and was told that he may never walk again, let alone fight. Mir was stripped of his title after 14 months.

In 2006, nearly 2 years later, Mir returned to the octagon. In 2008, Mir shocked the world by submitting rising star Brock Lesnar in the first round at UFC 81, in a match in which he was clearly outsized and not favored to win.

Mir vs. Lesnar I - UFC 81

After running through Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the interim heavyweight championship at UFC 92, Mir faced Lesnar in a rematch for the undisputed heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 100.

Lesnar, a NCAA national champion wrestler, took Mir down with ease in the first round and smothered him, landing effective ground-and-pound. In the second round Mir landed a left elbow followed by a flying knee that rocked Lesnar, but he gave up the takedown in doing so. Lesnar continued to land brutal ground-and-pound from the top position until the match was stopped at 1:48 into the second round via TKO.

In the co-main event of UFC 107, Mir faced off with muay thai and kickboxing ace Cheick Kongo. Mir beat Kongo at his own game, dropping him with a lead left hook less than a minute into the fight. Mir then locked in a guillotine and choked Kongo unconscious, ending the fight at just 1:12 into the first round.

Carwin, a NCAA division II national champion wrestler and boxer with incredible knockout power, presents a huge challenge to Mir. In Carwin’s 11-fight MMA career, he has earned six victories via knockout or TKO and 11 first round stoppages.

With all of his losses coming by way of TKO, Mir is not known for his ability to take a punch, especially while fighting off of his back. Carwin’s wrestling background and powerful punches could prove dangerous to Mir. However, Mir’s submission game will present a threat to Carwin should the fight go to the ground, and Mir is perhaps the more technically sound striker. Mir recently stated that he believes that Carwin is a more dangerous version of Lesnar.

Carwin showed a good chin in his last fight against Gabriel Gonzaga and was able to get off of his back in a matter of seconds. With his 11 career fights lasting just over 12 minutes, it will be difficult for Mir to study Carwin for weaknesses, so he will likely stick to his normal training regimen.

Live pay-per-view coverage of UFC 111 will begin at 10 p.m. EST

Frank Mir on ESPN – 3/25

Countdown to UFC 111

Usually the starting point of grappling action in MMA matches, the guard is often overlooked by fans and even fighters, but a fighter using proper technique can prove the position dangerous.

Ortiz inside the butterfly guard of Griffin

The goal of the top fighter in the guard is to utilize ground-and-pound striking while aiming to improve their position. The top fighter also has the option of opening the guard and going for submission attempts.

The goal of the bottom fighter in the guard is most commonly to attempt various submissions off of their back or to escape using sweep techniques to return the fight to their feet. However, there are a few effective strikes from the bottom as well.

There are two basic forms of the guard: the closed guard and the open guard. In the closed guard the bottom fighter has their legs wrapped around the top fighter’s back, as well as their arms in cases. The aim of the closed guard is for the bottom fighter to keep the top fighter’s body as close to theirs as possible, limiting range in order to prevent devastating strikes and set up submission attempts.

In the open guard the bottom fighter uses his legs to control the opponent with the goal being to keep the opponent further away rather than close, because the bottom fighter becomes more vulnerable to strikes. The open guard can be used by the bottom fighter to set up submissions, but is most commonly used to create a sweep in order to return the fight to the feet or transition to the top position.

Alan Belcher trapped in Jason Day's rubber guard at UFC 83. Day lands 10 elbow strikes and 17 unanswered punches

There are various forms of the open guard such as the butterfly guard, the rubber guard, the x-guard, the spider guard, De la Riva guard and 50-50 guard. Arguably the most common in MMA are the butterfly and rubber guard.

The butterfly guard is a position in which the bottom fighter’s legs are hooked with their ankles inside the top fighter’s thighs. This allows for good control of the top fighter’s movements and distancing and allows for effective sweeps.

The rubber guard, created by Eddie Bravo, is gaining popularity and becoming more common in the MMA world. The bottom fighter uses a leg to trap the top opponent in their guard, opening up possibilities for submissions, sweeps and even effective striking from the bottom. Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki has developed one of the most effective rubber guards in MMA along with UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

The main goal of the top fighter in the guard is to advance his position. However, striking can be effective. Tito Ortiz is among one of the most effective strikers from the guard in MMA, in great part due to his devastating elbows. Elbows, hammer fists, closed fist strikes, and even Royce Gracie style palm strikes can cause damage from the guard.

Mousasi KO's Jacare via up-kick

Fighters inside an opponents open guard also have the option of standing in the guard to attempt various leg locks, such as knee bars, heel hooks and achilles locks. However, this can make them vulnerable to commonly the most devastating strike from the bottom guard.

Up-kicks have proven to be extremely effective in MMA and are a good tool for fighters on their back. Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi knocked out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in dramatic fashion with a single upkick in the final round of the Dream middleweight grand prix at Dream 6 on September 23, 2008.

The bottom fighter has a clear advantage in the submission game from the guard. The most common submissions pulled off from guard are the guillotine, arm bar, triangle choke and kimura. Other popular submissions are the omoplata and gogoplata, but these techniques are most often used as a sweep to simply transition to the top or a standing position. However, they can be very effective when used from the rubber guard.

The top fighter must aim to improve his position above all else while in the guard. A ground-and-pound fighter must move out of harms way against a submission specialist rather than being contempt to strike from the guard. Mark Coleman learned this lesson not once, but twice when he was submitted from within WAMMA and former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko‘s guard during Pride FC competition in 2004 and then again in 2006.

Ever wonder what gym Fedor Emelianenko calls home?  Based out of St. Petersburg, Russia, Emieianenko, his brothers Aleksander and Ivan, his childhood coaches Vladimir Voronov, and Aleksander Michkov, and many other Strikeforce favorites call Red Devil Sport Club home.

Red Devil Sport Club began as a Combat Sambo training ground and as recently as the union of Red Devil and the Emelianenkos in 2005 has migrated with quick succession in the direction of mixed martial arts.  Most of the athletes are Russian or Armenian and train in a variety of specialties ranging from Sambo to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to Muay Thai to MMA.  Founded by Vadim Finkelstein, also the creator of M-1 Global, an MMA promotion naming stars such as Arman Gambaryan and Ibragim Magomedov.

With the strength of F. Emelianenko and currently the rise in fame of his brothers, many MMA stronghands (Victor Nemkov (below) and Aleksander Garkushenko, for example) were drawn to train at the Red Devil.  The team has created a strong name for itself by consistently performing as one of the top MMA teams in Russia since the start of M-1.

For spiritual reasons, F. Emelianenko requested that the Red Devil Team be referred to as the Imperial Team.  The name stuck around after due to Emelianenko’s excessive fame.  He is easily considered the top MMA artist in the sport.

In 2009, A. Emelianenko left Red Devil with little to no explanation but continues to practice with is brothers, coaches, and family friends.

As 2008 M-1 Challenge Champions, Imperial Team entered the 2009 challenge looking for success.  They came up short, failing to win the competition this year, largely due to the constant change in fighters.  Imperial Team often encourages newer fighter to be entered into the fight so that they may gain experience.  While this is a kind gesture and good training strategy for the athletes, it is not helping the team overall.  The team will be looking to reclaim their title in 2010.

In the finals of the DREAM Welterweight tournament, Marius Zaromskis completed his magical run in the tourney with a spectacular Crocop-esque head kick KO of Jason High to claim the DREAM Welterweight Championship.

Marius Zaromskis Ko'ed all three of his tourney opponents en route to the DREAM WW title.

Zaromskis, who defeated tournament favorite Hayato Sakurai in similar fashion earlier in the night to advance to the final, charged at High with a flying knee to start the title fight, but High put him on his back and tried to work the ground-and-pound. The fight made its way back up to the feet, and a lighting-fast high kick from Zaromskis flew out of nowhere and instantly put High to sleep.

It was a crushing defeat for High, who had earlier shown a great deal of heart in outlasting BJJ phenom Andres Galvao for a place in the final. Zaromskis, who was making his top-flight MMA debut in this DREAM tournament, has now become the exciting KO-machine champion that all promotions crave.

In a matchup between two of the best non-UFC lightweights that DREAM has to offer, submission wizard and master tactician Shinya Aoki turned an on-paper exciting matchup into a snoozefest with a less-than-impressive victory over Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro.

Shinya Aoki managed to turn the usual Pro-Aoki DREAM fanbase against him at DREAM 10

With both men being notable BJJ black belts, the battle of the two grapplers turned into an awkward stand-up battle, with “Shaolin” trying for short-range punches while Aoki threw leg kicks, trying to make use of his reach advantage. As the fight wore on, Aoki made the kicks to the arm and body count, but for the most part it was a tedious striking contest, with Aoki stuffing the occasional Ribeiro takedown attempt.

In the second round, Aoki continued to outstrike Shaolin, popping him with light kicks and knees until Ribeiro finally got the takedown. Ribeiro tried to work the ground-and-pound from top, but Aoki stuck to Ribeiro in guard and held him with the “chill dog” rubber guard as time expired, leading to an Aoki UD victory.

The match itself was a microcosm of why Aoki is such a frustrating fighter to watch and support; he possesses world-class submission skills and is one of the most talented lightweights in the world, but often rides out fights looking for a decision or laying-and-praying while waiting for his opponent to make the first move. Aoki’s strategy this match even managed to turn the usually pro-Japanese-fighter crowd against him, as he was greeted with an unexpected chorus of boos during his post-fight remarks.

Former TUF bad boy Jesse Taylor, known by most American MMA fans the man who was ejected from the TUF 7 title fight after a drunken incident in Las Vegas, was victorious in his return to the big stage at DREAM 1o, albeit through a freak injury stoppage.

Taylor gets a "W" at DREAM 10

Paired up against renown judoka and armbar enthusiast Dong Sik Yoon, Taylor exploded out of his corner and immediately took down Yoon, running all over the more experienced Korean on the ground before trying for a rear-naked choke. Amid the scramble, Taylors body weight landed squarely on Yoon’s ankle, an injury severe enough for the referee to stop the middleweight contest.

It was an anti-climatic end to Taylor’s DREAM debut, but he flashed some impressive wrestling during his very brief outing and will most certainly be expected back in DREAM at some point in the future. Since losing his lone UFC fight to CB Dollaway after the fallout from TUF 7, Taylor has won seven straight fights, including tonight’s bout against Yoon.