Frank Mir has grown accustomed to hardships. After taking the UFC by storm, when he conquered the heavyweight belt in 2004, he suffered a serious motorcycle accident, obliging him to stay out of the octagon for about a year and a half. Back, he was caught by surprise by Brazilian fighter Marcio Pe de Pano, and fell to the back of the line in the dispute for the category’s belt. Little by little, Mir recovered, and by submitting giant Brock Lesnar in spectacular fashion at UFC 81, in February, he returned to the spotlight. Such that he was called up to compete side by side with Rodrigo Minotauro, as coaches on the The Ultimate Fighter reality show.
Mission accomplished before the cameras, now it’s time to face that which Mir himself has said is the most important challenge of his life: beating Rodrigo Minotauro. Should he succeed, he will be called upon to test his sinews against the winner of the bout between Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture, to take place this Saturday.
A man who speaks with ease, with well-centered ideas, Frank Mir spoke with Nalty Jr., special GRACIEMAG.com collaborator in the United States. The chat was so fruitful that it will be published in two parts. The first part, touching on preparations for facing the Brazilian, you can find below. The second part, in which Mir praises Jiu-Jitsu, and touches on the controversial season of the Ultimate Fighter, you can find tomorrow.
On December 27th you will have the most important fight of your life against Rodrigo Minotauro, who is one of the best fighters in the world. What are your thoughts on that?
I think it’s a great opportunity that I’m able to fight one of the best fighters in the world. Nogueira is one of the best finishers in MMA. If I get out there and have a good performance it’ll be great. The truth is I have nothing to lose in this fight, but if I win, it will be the most important win of my career. I’ll give it my all, do the possible and impossible to win, but just being able to fight an MMA legend is good for me and good for my career.
What are you expecting in this fight?
I’ll have to fight like I’ve never fought before. Minotauro has really good boxing, and good wrestling, he knows how to get the takedown, he’s one of the best Jiu-Jitsu players in MMA. I’ll be fighting a guy who’s never been submitted or knocked out, I’ll try and win a decision, or maybe submit him with a footlock or armbar.
What do you plan to do to win?
Honestly I don’t see myself knocking or choking him out, getting him in a triangle or armbar. I see all that as nearly impossible, but I can hit him and make him fall and get points that way to win a decision. I saw Barnett nearly get him, you never know… Minotauro is really good at Jiu-Jitsu, and on the ground it’s much harder to beat him.
How have you been preparing?
I’m training with the best in the world. Striking with Wanderlei Silva, ground with Robert Drysdale, Demian Maia and others. I train with a team of experienced professionals to get my stamina up to the maximum. Minotauro has a strong team training with him, so in my training, I train so it counts, and with every session I try to become a better fighter for this fight.
What’s your main weapon for this fight?
I believe my best weapon is the fact I don’t just train Jiu-Jitsu or muay thai, I train MMA now. In my opinion you can’t just train one style. What I do is train a little of everything, my thoughts are focused on MMA.
You were a commentator at the last WEC. What did you think of the Urijah Faber vs Mike Brown and Paulo Filho vs Chael Sonnen bouts?
What happens is that when it comes to striking, Mike Brown is an excellent fighter, he got a clean punch on Urijah Faber, which opened his eye up, blocking part of his vision. That’s the dangerous part of boxing. That was where Mike Brown won the fight. That’s why I like Jiu-Jitsu so much, since you can eliminate that danger. It’s much better if you can simply take the guy to the ground. But sometimes there’s no way to do that, and you have to stand and trade. On Paulo’s fight with Sonnen, I honestly don’t know what happened with Paulo. I watched that three-round fight, 15 minutes, and it was just nuts. Something had to be wrong in his private life. But whatever his problems may be, he has to fix them before getting in the ring again. That was not the Paulo I know. He’s a much better fighter than the one who showed up at this last fight.
Who do you think will win the bout between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar?
It will surely be a great fight, really tough. Without wanting to discredit Randy Couture, but Brock Lesnar’s no joke…
