Frank Mir: Fact or Fiction?

Okay, so it’s been a while. No excuses, no spectacular story, nothing short of my laziness combined with a lack of initiative to get this bad boy up and going again. My roof currently has a sheet of ice on it and about every half an hour or so there’s a pop so loud that it could wake the dead. At first I thought there must have been a raccoon in my attic, but now I’m thinking it’s just the huge sheet of ice melting. Instead of trying to sleep through the sound, I figured why not write a new blog? The Christmas tree is up, the cookies are baked, I just got done watching A Christmas Story, and boy oh boy have there been lots of things happening in the MMA world! Let me first remind you that I am not a paid writer, I only do this for fun. I don’t hold back feelings, I make fun of people all the time, and I only hope that if I meet some of these fighters in person and they’ve read my blog, they spare my life. Seriously.

Frank Mir has been a recent topic of concern in the world of MMA and I thought I’d throw my two pennies out there and see if I can’t stir something up. Let me first tell you that I used to be a huge Frank Mir fan. Of course, in my eyes, how can you root against someone that’s broke Tim Sylvia’s arm and submitted Brock Lesnar? I’ll tell you how…watch this arrogant fella on The Ultimate Fighter and let his true personality ooze through those pearly whites! I always start my blogs with a bit of fact…so on with the truth.

Francisco Santos Mir III was born on May 24, 1979. Frank burst on to the scene with a quick armbar victory against Roberto Traven at UFC 34: High Voltage. Three months later, at UFC 36: Worlds Collide, he made Pete Williams cry uncle with a shoulder lock only 46 seconds into the first round. He was touted as the next big thing and was perceived to be invincible. That was until a very determined Ian Freeman proved that Mir was indeed a man as he TKO’d him late in the first round at UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall. Frank was welcomed back to the UFC with some advantageous matchmaking by Joe Silva and quickly submitted a hung over Tank Abbott, and then defeated Wes Sims twice (one by disqualification and one by knockout). His next fight against Tim Sylvia was one of his first true tests and, surprisingly, Mir won. He not only won, he broke Tim Sylvia’s arm…badly. It was one of those “here comes a train wreck but I can’t turn away” moments as you saw Sylvia’s arm snap like a stale piece of bread. Now at this point, Mir was heavyweight champion and I was a huge fan. Then came the accident.

Mir was involved in a motorcycle accident in which he broke his femur. Obviously, this was a serious accident and many believed he would never fight again. He was stripped of his title due to not defending it in a certain amount of time and questions started to arise yet again. After a near 2-year layoff, Mir returned to action with a fight against Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz. Cruz roughed Mir up and left him bloody and battered after the fight was called to a halt due to strikes. The comeback was a failure. Mir’s next fight was an absolute joke, and while he won in inconvincible fashion against Dan Christison, people paid more attention to his enormous belly than the win itself. He was nicknamed McMir after this fight as many believed he was on a steady diet of Big Macs and french fries from McDonald’s and was again believed to be on his way out of the UFC. Brandon Vera fought Mir next and while Mir showed up in shape for the fight, the conditioning was not a factor as Brandon Vera annihilated him with his pinpoint striking and TKO’d him one minute into the first round.

Any other fighter would have been cut from the UFC roster after the McDonald’s belly, but the fact that he was asked back AFTER these three performances is absolutely amazing. He returned at UFC 74: Respect and submitted Antoni Hardonk via kimura and actually looked as if he was taking his training seriously again. Although he took a beating from Brock Lesnar and was completely dominated in the fight, he found an opening and capitalized, submitting him with a kneebar in the first. I rooted for Frank Mir in every single one of his fights mentioned above. I’ve always loved the fact that he is a very calm fighter and never let emotions override his mind. Walking into the octagon he has a concentrated glare that always seems to get me fired up. At times I think his calmness has cost him, but it is an admirable trait for a fighter nonetheless.

When Frank was picked as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter I was excited. I thought he and Nog would have a great rivalry and I really believed Mir would be a great coach. I’ve read many articles about Nogueira and even learned all about him in Sam Sheridan’s book which made me a HUGE fan of his. On top of that, his fights in Pride were absolutely legendary and the man fights with heart that is rarely seen in today’s athletes. Nog turned out to be everything I thought he would be. He was a great coach, shared his knowledge, and bonded with his guys and created a family of fighters. Mir, on the other hand, seemed distant and more worried about his hairdo rather than his fighters. I know, I know, I only see what the editors want me to see. I realize this, but plain and simple, no one forced Frank Mir to say the things he did. Talking about the coach’s soccer challenge, I saw a high school jock that was insecure about his self worth. Saying he was one hundred times the athlete of Nogueira is one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a long time. The way he treated his fighters and trained them didn’t even come close to the job Nog did. He just never seemed comfortable in front of the camera and the same calmness that once made him a likable fighter turned him into a heel.

On December 27, when the octagon closes and the bell rings, Frank Mir will find out who the true athlete is. Mir has no gas, sub-par striking, and a good ground game. Nog has great gas, good striking, a great ground game, and most importantly, a lot of grit, determination, and heart. He’s never been submitted or knocked out and I just don’t see Mir being able to do it. I feel that Nog has the upper hand in every aspect of this fight and I don’t see Mir lasting three rounds. Look for Nogueira to rock him on the standup, get a good position on the ground, and pound him out. I call Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira by TKO late in the second round. I hope Nog brings a soccer ball and hands it to Frank after he’s bloody and battered. This will most likely not happen as Nogueira is a class-act and would never shrink to the same level as Mir did to protect his own ego. After Mir is defeated by Nog, I think he gets one more main card fight before sinking to the world of undercard fights and eventually getting cut from the UFC roster. After your lovely arrogance on TUF, I say good riddance. War Nogueira!!!!!