Josh Barnett and Frank Mir met on Sunday, Sept 1, at UFC 164 and what ensued is something we expect when two top heavy handed heavyweights meet inside the Octagon, a spectacular knockout.

Barnett never gave Mir a chance to get his game going. Just minutes after the start of the fight, Barnett quickly employed a clinch game against Mir and the latter can't seem to find an answer to the heavy blows that he is receiving in the clinch.

Before the two-minute mark of the fight, Barnett dragged Mir to the cage and continued his onslaught of strikes in the clinch. Mir seemed to be controlled easily in the clinch, especially when he is cornered on the side of the cage (see his fight against Shane Carwin, wherein he lost via uppercut inside the clinch). If it was Barnett's game plan to clinch Mir and corner him, taking a page in Carwin's blueprint of beating Mir, then his strategy was perfect.

Barnett had a great control of Mir's head and was able to position it at a striking distance of his right knee. When the knee hit Mir, he quickly crumpled on the ground and Barnett followed with a couple of punches before the referee came in to stop the fight.

Mir quickly got up and protested about the quick stoppage. But replay showed that he'd been unconscious for one moment.

The question now for most UFC fans and pundits is what is next for the former UFC champ after the devastating loss? Should he retire or fight another fight or two against top heavyweight opponents?

Mir's case is quite unique. He is too good of a fighter right now to retire (he can still give a lot of heavyweights problems in the ground and standup department), but he lost three consecutive fights. Nonetheless, it is important to note that those three fights are against top fighters in the UFC (Junior dos Santos, Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett). If Mir decides to continue fighting in the organisation, he can still beat majority of its fighters. But Mir being unable to beat the top guys in the division will make him some sort of a gatekeeper in the heavyweight class, a stepping stone for upcoming contenders.

Another possibility for Mir would be fights for the fans, such as a third meeting with archrival Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, whom he finished two times, first one via knockout and second one via submission. Clearly, in this time in his career, finding another title shot would be hard due to his losses and the number of great fighters in the heavyweight division right now.