Fighter Profile: Frank Mir

“POP” – The sound of Tim Sylvia’s arm breaking after a vicious arm bar, brought on by Frank Mir, at UFC 48: Payback. This single “pop” secured the UFC Heavyweight title for Frank Mir, 50 seconds into the first round after TKO stoppage by referee Herb Dean.

Mir had reached the pinnacle of his sport.

But with all “good news,” comes the “bad news.”

On September 17, 2004, while riding his motorcycle in Las Vegas, Mir was hit by a car traveling at 50 mph and thrown off his bike. Lucky to survive, Mir suffered a broken femur, tearing all the ligaments in his knee. After major surgery to fix the broken bone, while recovering from the injury, an Interim Heavyweight title was created and won by Andrei Arlovski. Upon hearing that Mir could still not yet fight, the UFC stripped him of his title, naming Arlovski the undisputed Heavy Weight Champion of the World.

The next time Mir would fight in the UFC would be on February 4, 2006 in UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture 3. The comeback didn’t start the way Mir had hoped. He was set to face Marcio Cruz, a young fighter in only his second fight. Mir lost by way of TKO late in the first round. This did not discourage Mir, who went on to fight 2 other fights in the same year, winning one and losing one. Determined to make a comeback, Mir fought Antoni Hardonk, and Brock Lesnar beating both by submission. This made UFC President, Dana White, take notice. He was cast to be one of the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 8 opposite Brazilian ju-jitsu mastermind Antonio Nogueira. When the two met in the octagon at UFC 92, it was sure to be a good fight. Admitting that he was actually “afraid” to step in the ring with Nogueira, Mir kept his composure and delivered Nogueira the first knockout of his career. Giving Mir the interim belt and the nod as the number one contender for the undisputed Heavyweight crown currently held by Brock Lesnar. Mir had defeated an in-experienced Lesnar once before by a knee bar in the first round.

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At (12-3), (4-2) after the accident, the comeback has now (almost) come full-circle for Mir. Realizing what he had just accomplished he had this to say:

"It just shows, everybody right now look at your life, people always say you can't do s***. I'm proof you can do things."

Now if that’s not inspiration, I don’t know what is.

Mir will next fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 in a rematch of their UFC 81 fight which saw Mir win via Submission (Ankle Lock).

Recent Frank Mir MMA News:

• Defeated Cheick Kongo via Submission at UFC 107 on December 12, 2009 - UFC 107 results

• Lost to Shane Carwin by TKO for the Interim UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 111 on March 27, 2010 - UFC 111 results

By Ryan DeClerck
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
Updated June 2009

Photo courtesy of UFC