Mixed martial arts is a sport that takes its competitors to the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. An unknown fighter can score a few quick and spectacular wins and will be thought of as unbeatable. Conversely, a legend can drop his first fight in years and many will think him exposed and no longer able to compete at a high level.
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| It's been a long road back for Mir. (UFC) |
Frank Mir was a highly touted fighter even at the very beginning of his UFC career. Despite accumulating only a 2-0 record prior to signing with the UFC, Mir was quickly promoted as one of the promotion's top rising heavyweights. Mir was known as a submission virtuoso, and was an articulate representative for the sport.
"Some of the other heavyweights had the same ability in the Octagon but didn't show the same marketing ability outside," Mir notes. "I was able to speak and fight the stigma of being a tattooed, shaved head fighter with an attitude, particularly at the time when UFC was trying to overcome that. I can talk to somebody's mom and convince them I'm not a baby eater."
Mir rose up through the ranks, and broke Tim Sylvia's arm to capture the UFC heavyweight title in 2004. Only 25 years old and sporting an 8-1 record, Mir looked to have a bright future ahead of him. However, less than three months later, Mir's career nearly ended.
On September 17, 2004, Mir was involved in a serious motorcycle accident, in which he suffered a broken femur and spent over 18 months trying to rehabilitate. Mir's next fight wouldn't take place until February of 2006, and he still wasn't healthy at that point. Mir looked out of shape and unimpressive in losing to Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz and winning a narrow decision over journeyman Dan Christison.
While those fights were frustrating for Mir, his lowest point occurred when he lost via knockout in a little over a minute to Brandon Vera.
"I knew how hurt I was, so it didn't hurt my feelings too bad [when I lost to Cruz]," Mir says. "The fight that woke me up was the Vera fight because I honestly thought I was back to normal. I was physically healed. For the Pe De Pano fight, one of my legs was four inches shorter than the other. I lied on the physical. I squatted with one leg because I couldn't squat on both legs without falling over. I didn't have to do that for the Brandon Vera fight. I was physically healthy."
When Mir lost to Vera, he immediately contemplated retirement. Mir might have retired had it not been for his wife, who talked him out of it with some harsh words.
"I was sitting there going, 'Okay baby it looks like I'm going to have to retire,'" Mir says. "She was like, 'What, you think you're the first fighter to have a bad day? You think you're the first fighter to struggle? What are you, a [expletive]? Didn't Randy Couture get his [butt] whipped by Josh Barnett? Was Randy Couture a [expletive] like this? What if I talk to Randy? I wonder if I can be his woman rather than your woman.'"
With that pep talk, Mir decided to continue on. However, he faced another problem in his next bout with Antoni Hardonk. The UFC told him that if he lost that fight, he would be released by the company. Instead, he tapped out Hardonk in a little over a minute and was then given the opportunity to face former WWE star Brock Lesnar in his first UFC fight.
Lesnar overwhelmed Mir in the early going of the fight with brutal ground and pound, but Mir was able to hang in and catch Lesnar in a leg submission for the tap. Mir attributes his fortitude to the adversity he faced following his motorcycle accident.
"The Lesnar fight was the worst minute of my career," Mir notes. "It felt like I was under water and someone was pounding the [expletive] out of me. I didn't even know where I was because he was so big and I couldn't see where the punches were coming from. If that fight had happened five years ago I wouldn't have made it past a minute. I would have folded and been crushed. I was so dominant before the accident that I didn't have the mental strength to overcome."
