Frank Mir – the baddest man on the planet. Or at least that’s what Frank has always claimed on his personal website.
The UFC rounded out the full UFC 74 fight card yesterday when they announced the fight between Frank Mir and Antoni Hardonk. According to the UFC’s website:
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir returns to the Octagon for the first time in nine months when he takes on dangerous Antoni Hardonk in a bout on August 25th’s UFC 74 card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Calling kickboxer Antoni Hardonk “dangerous” is somewhat humorous. Sure Hardonk has a good standup game and he did knock out Sherman Pendergast but we all saw his terrible performace in his second UFC fight against Justin McCully. Hardonk is hand picked for Mir, who likes to spend as much of the fight on the mat to conserve energy and work his ground game, and we saw that Hardonk’s ground game is close to the level of Cheick Kongo when he fought McCully.
Continuing to refer to Frank Mir as the “Former UFC heavyweight champion” also seems a little bit tongue-in-cheek to me. Sure, Frank Mir was at one time the Heavyweight champion after he defeated Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 only to suffer serious injuries in a motorcycle accident a few months later before he was able to defend his belt one time against Andre Arlovski in December of 2004. So, Mir won the belt and almost just as quickly lost it and has never been the same fighter since.
Mir returned to the UFC in February of 2006 and lost his comeback fight to Marcio Cruz in brutal fashion, and then barely edged out a victory against Dan Cristison a few months later at UFC 61. Frank returned one more time at UFC 65 only to be dominated by rising star Brandon Vera and hasn’t fought since.
To be honest and speak the facts, since his return Frank Mir has been fat and out of shape for all his fights. He doesn’t have the same speed, quickness, or tenacity that we saw in his early fights against Pete Williams, Tim Sylvia and his two wars with Wes Sims. Is it because of injury? Is it because Frank doesn’t like to train? Is Frank caught up in his hometown Las Vegas lifestyle? Who really knows. All I know is that Frank isn’t even close to the same fighter he was and will never be a contender again in the UFC heavyweight division.
So why then does Frank Mir seem to be the golden-boy of the UFC? Frank’s relationship with UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertita, as well as with Dana White, must be extrememly solid for the UFC to keep promoting a fighter who obviously has long since lost his curb appeal. Are they all part of some hometown Vegas-boys-only style club that keeps Frank on the active roster? Frank is the commentator for the newly Zuffa aquired WEC, and that only puts him deeper into Zuffa bed.
What is it about Frank that keeps bringing him back. Even with his recent “struggles” in the octagon, Frank still has a very large and loyal fan following. If you have read MMA HQ for a long time, you will remember that for a long time, I was one of those die-hard Frank Mir fans. Up until his fight with Dan Christison, I would have defended Mir to the death. Why? I really don’t know. What made/makes Frank elicit that much of an emotional response from the MMA community?
If Frank loses this fight to Hardonk, will his UFC day’s be over? I doubt it. I’m sure we’ll all be treated to at least 2 or 3 more Frank Mir fights where Goldberg will extol the virtues of the great Frank Mir, former UFC heavyweight champion.
Yeah, I remember that Frank Mir too; I just haven’t seen him since 2004. If anyone ever finds him, let Frank know we all miss him and want him back.
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Mike
Tony
Shawn
Ben Cartlidge
Rich
Yael Grauer
ToughTexan
Hari Khalsa
Dr J .. have you actually seen any recent training or photos of Mir other than the stuff from 9 months ago? A lot can happen in 9 months
@MMAK,
The most recent coverage I have seen from Frank Mir was probably close to 6 weeks ago now. When the initial rematch with Tim Syliva at UFC 74 came up, there was some coverage of Mir and his training with his new camp. Since then I haven’t seen anything.
Sure a lot can happen in 9 months, and their is absolutely no reason that Mir won’t and/or can’t come back in the shape he was in 2002-2004. But, until he does I’m not going to hold my breath. He’s been in the octagon 3 times since his return in 2006 and each time he looked the same. What would lead me to think he’ll be any different for this fight?
I have to agree with Dr. J here…”old habits die hard”….or should I say “greasyhamburgers, taste good”.
I think Mir is at a point in his career where the drive and passion for fighting is gone. There are way too many superior fighters in optimal shape coming in all the time. He seems perfectly comfortable sitting behind a desk and commentating.
LOL SUP DUDES…. I KNOW FRANKIE CAN DO IT … I WANNA SEE HIM COME OUT LIKE HE USED TO…
im a fat guy myself but frank just plain looks fat in his last fight with vera he just looks chunky like dipple fat around his boobs and stomach
are you out of your mind????? FRANK MIR is more of a fighter than alot of the wanna bes that aspire,like you.Maybe you should switch to watching fake wrestling,a little more your speed! YOU ONLY WISH YOU COULD BE HALF THE MAN HE IS !!!!!!! LOYAL FRANK MIR FAN
u are a dumb ***** this comment is over a year old
HAHA! Listen Richard, I thought you had like, I dunno disappeared… I haven’t heard you nail someone like that in almost a year… ;) there is a new DENNIS in town and *** is takin’ em to task eh?
speaking of disappeared where have u been buddy?
eh.. busy as heck man.. lots going on out here.. liquidating a lot of debt ect, because we are preparing for an inevitable rise in inflation, there is a coming economic bust that is going to cause inflation to rise a lot, like unforeseen rises.. but anyways, that has nothing to do with MMA so whatever…
TTYL guys
I hear you bro.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279
Your either Liberatarian or Repub. because most libs have no idea about this system. :) I was talking about our “Fiat” currency system with a guy about 4 months ago, we came to the conclusion that if the Chicoms figure it out completely, the jigs up and we are gonna have a run on the bank.. and then we are done.. lol we shall see..
WHENS THE LAST TIME BOTH FIGHTERS TESTED POSITIVE FOR STERIODS IN A FIGHT SHERK FRANCA U GUYS ARE LAME
Yeah, kinda like the Pitbull, he lately seems like his fighting is full of “bull”.. too cautious, you know when he comes out I keep thinking we are going to see the same precise, sharp, and skilled fighter who goes for the kill, instead we keep seeing a re-run of Arlovski Sylvia 3 over and over and over….. hey anyone know when Tim is going to be fighting again, perhaps he could put up a more exciting bout than Andrea…lol
@Dr J / Amir
I see your points both make sense…. I still hope Mir returns to his potential form, but I think Amir said it best…. GREASY HAMBURGERS TASTE GREAT! And when your the owners lapdog, who gives a rip if you are a good fighter anymore or not… lol
MAN I COULD USE A BURGER RIGHT NOW!
@DR J
Doc, have you tried emailing DENNIS lately or at all since he stopped posting? Is that like an obsessive violation of privacy? If so drop me his email so I can get him back on the wagon, think he is just skipping MMA Church and backsliding, we need the prophet to get the mmapriest back on board.. lol
lets try to get him back after im number one
KANSAS
LAY OFF THE PITBULL………LOL….. WHATS UP WITH SHERK LOL THAT SUCKS….
I REALLY LIKE SHERK TOO…. DAMM IT SHERK … DAMM IT
I agree with that last paragraph. I recently said that I wish Mir’s spirit would come back to that shell his body has become. It’s like he’s a zombie going through the motions for his fights, even though he’s obviously competent and knowledgeable when doing commentary for WEC.
For anyone who has seen the movie “Click” (Adam Sandler)…maybe Frank has one of those universal remotes and he presses the fast forward button between WEC shows…