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Frank Mir Is the Luckiest Man in MMA
When it comes to MMA’s luckiest fighters it’s tough to overlook Francisco Santos Mir III, otherwise known as Las Vegas’ own Frank Mir. Yes, Lady Luck has smiled broadly upon him, from his movie star good looks and TV ready mouthpiece, to his impossibly beautiful wife Jennifer, life is good if you’re Frank Mir.
So goes with Mir’s luck that he was able to look death directly in the eye and smirk after a 2004 motorcycle accident almost left him with a stump for a leg 6 years ago.
However, his luck with fighting the right fight at the right time shows his knack for good fortune almost as much. No one is questioning Mir’s submission offense or physical gifts but no one has better timing in the UFC than Frank Mir when it comes to opponents.
In just his 2nd appearance in the UFC he took on Pete Williams and submitted him with a creative hybrid form of a keylock that has not been duplicated in the Octagon to this very day. Williams was coming off 2 straight losses and with Mir was using up the last of his residual momentum from the made for “UFC Unleashed” kick to Mark Coleman’s face. This fight followed Mir’s submission against the respected BJJ athlete Roberto Traven and was looking to add to his cred, which he did in extremely impressive fashion.
After the Williams fight Mir took on British brawler Ian Freeman and was bludgeoned into defeat after multiple failed kneebar attempts. The Freeman loss caused Mir’s stock to suddenly plateau and for the first time questions about Mir’s career surfaced.
Enter “Tank” Abbott the one trick, old school UFC fighter with the beer league waistline and severely limited MMA skills. Predictably, Mir got Abbott to the ground and forced him to tap quickly thereafter.
After back to back wins over HammerHouse’s Wes Sims and a gruesome submission of Tim Sylvia, the UFC heavyweight division looked to be in the palm of Mir’s hand until the motorcycle accident brought his prosperity to a halt.
In Mir’s comeback fight almost 18 months later Mir climbed into the cage against Marcio Cruz and got pounded en route to a 1st round TKO loss. After a lackluster decision win over the robotic Dan Christison, Mir was out of shape and outclassed in another 1st round TKO loss to Brandon Vera.
After the 3 fights following the accident, the view from the Mir camp was understandably bleak as questions about Mir’s conditioning and heart loomed over him like a giant nimbus cloud.
A win over grappling skills challenged Dutch kickboxer Antoni Hardonk garnered Mir his 2nd impeccably timed fight versus a WWE veteran. While Mir’s win over Brock Lesnar was impressive when you consider Lesnar’s very legitimate amateur wrestling pedigree and rare combination of size and athletic ability, Lesnar was a complete neophyte when it came to fighting. But a win is a win and now Mir was a full-fledged heavyweight contender again after changing his training and dedication to the sport as well.
After posting a 2-2 record in his next 4 fights including a brutal beating during his rematch loss with Lesnar, Mir again needed a win badly against Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic to remain significant in the division.
On the surface CroCop seemed to be a good test and was 4-1 in his last 5 fights coming into the Mir fight but had shown little of the explosive KO power that had made him a fan favorite during his Pride days. As I’m sure anyone who is reading this article knows, Mir got that badly needed win via 3rd round KO of CroCop.
No one is saying Mir doesn’t deserve the success he’s enjoyed as one of MMA’s most recognizable figures, only that his opponent timing has been very fortunate as to who and when. One can only wonder though if somewhere Randy Orton or Kurt Angle is trying on 4 oz. gloves in preparation for a Mir fight down the road.
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