Frank Mir: The Long and Winding Road

A look at the great career of Frank Mir, and his future in the UFC's Heavyweight Division

On July 14 th, 2001, Francisco Santos Mir III made his professional MMA debut against Jerome Smith at HOOKnSHOOT: Showdown. After two rounds of fighting, he earned a unanimous decision against Smith. Approximately 6 weeks later, Mir would once again compete and put his mixed martial arts skills to the test. On August 31 st of 2001, Mir fought Dan Quinn at IFC Warriors Challenge 15, winning the fight by triangle choke at 2:15 of the very first round. At this time, in the world of mixed martial arts, there were few heavyweights with the high-level submission skills of Mir. After meeting Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmaker Joe Silva at an MMA school that he was visiting, Mir soon found himself making his debut in the UFC, a then-renegade mixed martial arts organization that had many harsh critics. Mir made his UFC debut against Roberto Travern, an experienced UFC fighter who was a submission wrestling world champion and a 6th degree black belt in Brazilian Ju Jitsu. Unfortunately for Travern, Mir was quite competent on the ground himself, and Travern quickly found himself on the wrong end of an armbar, forcing him to tapout at 1:05 of round one. This submission earned Mir the “Tapout of the Night” award, and he was quickly recognized as a significant threat in the heavyweight division due to his athleticism and the vicious ground game that he brought to the sport.

In his next fight, Frank Mir faced veteran fighter Pete Williams at UFC 36: Worlds Collide. Mir once again pulled off a fast, vicious submission in round one, winning the fight by inside shoulder lock. Mir’s seemingly meteoric rise to the top then met a speed bump – or more like a speed barricade – by the name of Ian Freeman. Freeman finished Mir via TKO in the very first round, but a young Frank Mir learned from his mistake and powered on. Following his fight with Freeman, Mir would be matched up against Tank Abbott, a self-proclaimed “pit fighter” that was known for his vicious punching power and brutal strength. This fight was considered by some to be a symbolic changing of the guard. Mir made quick work of Tank Abbott, finishing a fighter who was clearly inexperienced in submissions by toe hold in the very first round. Some may call it comical, others may call it convincing. There was a new breed of heavyweight in town.

Find great unique MMA apparel & clothing online from Intimidation Clothing!

Following his victory over Tank Abbott, Frank Mir was matched up with experienced heavyweight Wes Sims. After winning the fight by disqualification in their first matchup, Mir went on to beat Sims when the two met again. However, instead of using his Brazilian Ju Jitsu to finish this fight, Mir relied on his punching power, knocking out Sims in the second round. This knockout victory is a staple of Frank Mir’s highlight reel, exhibiting the brutal left-right combos that he used to chop down the giant Sims.

After stringing together a series of convincing victories, Mir would get a shot at the vacant UFC Heavyweight Title in a matchup against Tim Sylvia at UFC 48: Payback. At 50 seconds into the first round, Frank Mir got a hold of Tim Sylvia’s arm. It is bad, bad news when a submission fighter of Frank Mir’s caliber gets a hold of your arm. Once Frank Mir locked on the armbar, Tim Sylvia tried to elevate Mir off the ground in order to break his hold. However, instead of breaking Mir’s grip, Sylvia’s forearm snapped in half like a raw carrot. Referee Herb Dean intervened and stopped the fight, and Frank Mir became the new UFC Heavyweight Champion. Frank Mir was on top of the MMA world.

A few months after being crowned champion, Frank Mir was taking a ride on his motorcycle. As he was entering an intersection, a car sped through a traffic light and Mir hit the vehicle and was sent flying in the air. The accident resulted in a broken femur and multiple torn ligaments. A man who was one of the scariest cage fighters that the world had ever seen was immobilized by an automotive tragedy. Due to the severe and extensive nature of his injuries, Frank Mir was not able to defend his title, and he was stripped of his belt 14 months after he had become UFC champion. According to multiple interviews and personal testimony by Frank Mir, this was a very dark time in his life, a time in which he entered a deep depression. After recovering, Frank Mir simply did not look the same. He looked softer physically, and he suffered a painful TKO loss at the hands of Marcio Cruz at UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3. While he did bounce back from that fight with a unanimous decision over Dan Christianson, his subsequent fight resulted in another TKO defeat, this time at the hands of an up and coming heavyweight by the name of Brandon Vera.

At this point in time, many people had written off Frank Mir. Critics felt that his motorcycle accident had done irreversible physical damage and had destroyed his mental and competitive aura of invincibility. Mir continued to suffer from depression, yet he continually attributed his ability to overcome these challenging times to the support of his loving wife and family. Frank Mir was determined to return to his original form.

At UFC 74, Frank Mir got his chance at redemption against dangerous kickboxer Antoni Hardonk. Early in the fight, Mir bull-rushed Hardonk and took him to the floor. After that, it was academic. Mir locked on a tight kimora and forced Hardonk to either tap or have his shoulder removed from the socket. Hardonk chose the former route, and Mir let go of the submission hold, claiming a very important psychological victory. I can still picture him looking into the cameras and confidently saying “I’m back” as the crowd roared in the background. This was the beginning of a new chapter in Frank Mir’s career.

> Look to Pro Fighting Fans for the official UFC fight cards & results after the fights are complete and check out the expanded selection of UFC apparel, hats & merchandise available online!

At UFC 81: Breaking Point, Frank Mir was matched up against UFC newcomer and former WWE Wrestler Brock Lesnar. The fight did not start off well for Mir. Brock landed some big shots on Frank and threw him to the ground where he continued to throw rapid hammer fists to Mir’s face. Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately, for Mir a few of those shots were to the back of his head, causing Referee Steve Mazzagatti to stop the action and deduct a point from Brock for the illegal blows. This at least gave Mir time to get his bearings. Upon reset, Brock once against dropped Mir with a big punch. While on his back, with Brock towering over him, Mir transitioned into a beautiful knee bar. He secured the submission and was able to tap out the monstrous wrestler in the first round. Frank Mir’s experience had prevailed.

Following this fight, Frank Mir began coaching Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter against Antonio “Minotauro” Nogeira, a legendary heavyweight fighter. Once the season ended, Frank would have to face off against Nogeira in a bout for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Mir ran through a seemingly weakened Nogeira with a series of big punches, dropping the otherwise resilient fighter multiple times in the fight before becoming the first man to ever finish Nogeira. This was indeed a true turning point in Frank Mir’s career and in his life. He had become the UFC Heavyweight Champion once again and, more importantly, he had overcome all of the personal demons that had been plaguing him for so many years following his accident.

Frank Mir enjoyed his status as UFC champion, if only for a brief time. His reign quickly ended when he once again faced Brock Lesnar in a rematch to unify the UFC Heavyweight Championship. In their second meeting, Brock would use his powerful wrestling and his vicious ground and pound to finish Mir in the second round. It was once again back to the drawing board for Frank Mir.

Frank Mir rebounded with a quick and devastating win over Cheick Kongo, a veteran UFC fighter known for his technical striking ability. Mir dropped Kongo with a beautiful left hook in the very first round and, when Kongo tried to scramble to his feet, Mir got a hold of Kongo’s neck and put him to sleep… literally. In light of this victory and the fact that the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, was plagued by physical illness, the UFC was forced to once again create an Interim Heavyweight Championship bout. This time, Frank Mir would be matched up against undefeated wrestling powerhouse Shane Carwin.

After his first loss to Lesnar, Mir began a serious strength and conditioning program designed to put on size and strength so that he could compete with the new trend in the heavyweight division: the giant wrestler who has to cut weight to reach 265lbs. Mir’s physical appearance changed significantly prior to and following his fight with Kongo, and he appeared mentally and physically better than ever. Many people believed that Frank Mir was beginning to truly realize his enormous potential.

Frank Mir will tell you that in his fight with Shane Carwin he made one major mistake. He had become so obsessed with avoiding being taken down and pounded out by wrestlers like Carwin and Lesnar that he forgot about a very important part of mixed martial arts; namely, dirty boxing against the cage. In the first round of their interim title bout, Carwin muscled Mir up against the cage and landed a vicious uppercut. Carwin’s first punch visibly shook Mir, and Shane followed up with a serious of devastating punches that dropped Mir to the canvas. Once Mir hit the floor, Carwin swarmed all over him and knocked out Mir with his trademark ground and pound. Mir had once again suffered the same fate that he had at suffered the hands of his arch nemesis, Brock Lesnar.

Following this fight, Mir released a series of very honest and genuine interviews in which he recognized the mistakes he had made against Lesnar and Carwin and accepted the fact that he had lost to larger men with significant punching power. Frank also stated that he is no longer obsessed with fighting Brock Lesnar again, though he would like a chance to avenge his previous loss at some point in the future.

So, what is next for Frank Mir? Frank Mir started from the bottom, worked his way up to a UFC title, lost his UFC title, earned another UFC title, and then lost it once again. Frank Mir’s career certainly has been a long and winding road. He acknowledges that the UFC generally does not match up fighters coming off losses with those coming off wins. There are, however, a number of intriguing matchups that are possible for him, including a rumored matchup against heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson who is coming off some impressive wins against solid competition. We will have to wait and see if that fight will truly happen. Another very interesting prospective matchup could come in the way of a rematch with Nogeuira. There have been many claims that Nogeuira was suffering from a debilitating staph infection just one week prior to his fight against Mir, so a rematch may be just what the doctor ordered, and I’m sure MMA fans would love to see that fight happen once again. It would truly be a treat to watch two former heavyweight champions who are among, if not the, most talented heavyweight submission specialists in the game, meet once again. However, this is all speculation. MMA fans will have to wait and see what is next for Frank Mir. Regardless, one thing that we can all count on is that Frank will be physically, and more important mentally, prepared for his next fight, as he seems to have overcome all of the issues that have plagued him in the past, regardless of his most recent loss. In addition to being an interesting, intellectual human being and a very cerebral fighter, Frank Mir is a great advocate for the sport of mixed martial arts. I, for one, cannot wait to see him compete inside the Octagon once again.

By Anthony DeFrancesco
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer