It’s been a week since Frank Mir downed Todd Duffee in the first round of their heavyweight battle in San Diego, and I haven’t stopped replaying the image in my head. What image would that be? The image of Mir, the veteran UFC heavyweight who seems to break a new record with every fight he has, elated as he had proved the world wrong. The reason this image stood out to me so much was that I had seen it before in Mir’s career. In fact, the former two-time heavyweight champion has made a career out of climbing the same hill over and over again, only stumbling so that he could once again start climbing. In a time where aging heavyweights rejuvenating their careers seems to be the cool thing in the division, Frank Mir has been doing it over and over again during the span of his long career.
Frank Mir: A History of Evolution in MMA
The Beginning:
Mir made his debut in the UFC in November of 2001, a 22 year old prospect with the intelligence to take advantage of the deficiencies in most heavyweight fighters games at the time. Mir realized that, at that time, there weren’t many heavyweights who were especially skilled in the ground area in MMA. All the now famous heavyweight grapplers in the heavyweight division either hadn’t fought yet or fought elsewhere. Going into the UFC, Mir realized that most heavyweights relied on power and toughness in order to succeed. Already with a background in wrestling, Mir was ready to take advantage of this. He did that, compiling a record of 7-1 in the UFC (9-1 professionally), five of his wins coming via submission. This exciting and exotic style brought Frank Mir to his first title fight, against towering heavyweight Tim Sylvia. At the time, the 6 ft. 8 inches tall Sylvia was 16-0 and seemingly unstoppable. He had finished all but two of his fights and had a reputation for being tough and durable. This toughness was put to the test when Mir famously tugged on Sylvia’s arm until it broke less than a minute into the fight. The fight was brought to a halt, despite Sylvia’s protests…because he’s crazy, and Frank Mir had won his first ever UFC title. It was the perfect climax for a man who had used his knowledge of his fellow heavyweights to gain success in the octagon over his short career. It was the first time Mir found a way to adapt to the fight game, but it would not be the last.
The Motorcycle Accident:
If you know who Frank Mir is, you probably have some knowledge regarding his infamous motorcycle crash on September 17th, 2004. Mir predictably refused to follow the doctor’s advice to retire due to the injuries he had sustained from the accident, but he was forced to sit out almost a full two years. Worst of all, Mir was also forced to forfeit his heavyweight championship when he was unable to defend his belt. When he finally did return from injury, he was not the same fighter. His next three fights saw a combination of a slower, more out of shape fighter then the technically sharp competitor from two years prior. After being upset in the first fight, winning a lackluster decision in the second, and being knocked out again in the title eliminator third fight, Frank Mir was at a career crossroads with people believing he was done. Mir then proceeded to win his next two fights in a row, both by first round submission, earning himself an opportunity at Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s interim championship. It was a matchup of two of the greatest submission specialists in heavyweight history. Most believed that Nogueira would hold an advantage in the standup, and a slight advantage on the ground, making Mir the underdog. However, with the entire MMA community watching, Mir put on a striking clinic, landing his patented straight, jab, uppercut combination many times en route to becoming the first man to ever finish Nogueira. With that, Mir was once again a champion, and had completed the second evolution of his career. It started off as simply trying to get back to the level of skill he had before the accident, and ended with the greatest performance of his career as he had won the title in an area where he was considered weak, against a legend no less.
Bigger Opponents, Bigger Frank Mir:
Mir’s next battle was a title unification bout with the very man that he had beaten in order to secure his title match with Nogueira: Brock Lesnar. Mir was defeated by Lesnar in gruesome fashion in the second round of their main event contest. Mir had a few flashes of success in the stand-up, tagging Lesnar with brutal knees, but could not overcome Lesnar’s overwhelming size advantage, ultimately crumbling to the behemoth’s destructive ground and pound. Mir had always been a smaller heavyweight, an advantage in the early parts of his career in the UFC. He had found success in sacrificing size for speed and agility against fellow heavyweights. However, the loss to Lesnar convinced him that times had changed, and it was time for him to do the same. With Lesnar and other large heavyweights like Shane Carwin to deal with in the title picture, Mir came into his next fight against Cheick Kongo only a half a pound shy of the 265 pound weight limit for heavyweights. This newest evolution saw Mir add more one punch knockout power to his bag of tricks, helping him stun kickboxing specialist Kongo in the first round with a punch that allowed him to end the fight via submission. This immediately earned him an interim title opportunity against Carwin. Although he was unsuccessful in his third bid for the belt, his new frame helped him to win his next three fights in the octagon against legends of the sport. His size was especially useful in the second of those three bouts, when he out-muscled Roy Nelson on the mat and kept him at bay using the Thai Clinch on the feet en route to a unanimous decision win. The loss to Carwin had convinced many fans that, once again, Mir was done as a contender and his newest evolution was not enough to change that. However, Mir went on another impressive winning streak, which set up yet another title match against Brazilian striker Junior Dos Santos.
Title Contender to Washed Up to Who Knows What:
In hindsight, Frank Mir’s proceeding four fight losing skid is unique. For one, many forget that it all started coming off a winning streak and in a battle for the championship. He went from being one victory away from being the best in the world, to an unprecedented number of losses in a row. In fact, Mir had never even been on a losing streak before. Considering his age and the damage he had taken in those four losses, it seemed that Mir’s career would be over for good shortly. Not many people have bounced back from a losing streak in the UFC of that size. But he made good on that opportunity, winning his last two fights by knockout in the first round. I don’t really know how he has done it this time, but Mir has once again found a way to convince us that he was done, and then evolved enough to rejuvenate his career as a title contender. Realistically, Mir is one win away from once again challenging for the UFC heavyweight championship. We have seen fighters be written off, only to achieve greatness again later on in their careers. Robbie Lawler, Rafeal Dos Anjos, and Fabricio Werdum being champions is proof enough of that. But how many times have we seen a fighter written off so many times, in so many different ways, somehow come back and evolve enough to reach the highest points this sport has to offer? I don’t think we have ever seen a fighter do it multiple times, and yet Mir’s entire career can be split up into at least four separate chapters of his evolution as a fighter. Somehow, someway, Frank Mir has found a way to consistently evolve with this ever-changing sport every time it’s necessary to remain relevant. Frank Mir has truly had one of the most exciting, roller coaster careers in MMA history, and it’s not over yet.
