Mir's Great Challenge
The belt almost seems secondary.
Because it’s not often that Frank Mir doesn’t step onto the mat and feel that he isn’t the best there.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be a challenge though this Saturday at UFC 92. The UFC interim heavyweight champion not only matches the black belt ranking Mir earned from former trainer Ricardo Pires, Nogueira has practically written the book on the effective use of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in MMA competition.
“It’s always me going against somebody who doesn’t do jiu-jitsu. It’s always me beating the striker that doesn’t do jiu-jitsu, or the wrestler,” said Mir. “Now I –- at 100 percent –- get to compete against someone that is better than I am at this stuff.”
It’s been a strange road back into the title picture.
At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Mir moved more like a man half his size in his first two UFC bouts. Only 22 years old at the time, the Las Vegas native ensnared black belt Roberto Traven and Lion’s Den veteran Pete Williams in holds the audience was barely familiar with.
By the time Mir got his first shot at the heavyweight title three years later in 2004, fans should have expected the bone-breaking submission he caught Tim Sylvia with.
A motorcycle accident later that year nearly finished Mir though. A fractured femur made even the most rudimentary maneuvers, like dropping levels for takedowns, a pain-stricken struggle. It certainly made Mir’s comeback all the more difficult and a misfire against Marcio Cruz at UFC 57 in 2006 left most doubtful the former champion would ever return to form.
While this story unfolded, Noguiera (31-4-1) sculpted his legacy half away the world in Japan, thrilling crowds with his grappling prowess and unmatched resilience against every oversized monster Pride Fighting Championships could put in front of him.
Mir watched and was inspired. And another two years later, he gets the opportunity to face the man he’s studied so closely.
“He was the first guy and I was the one mimicking him in the States,” said Mir, now 11-3 in his seven-year career. “I get to see how much further I’ve evolved. Can I push past that standard? He set the bar and now I get to see where I am to it.”
In an exclusive video interview with Sherdog.com, Mir weighs his similarities and differences to the Brazilian fighting legend he stood opposite from as a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 8,” and tackles the weaknesses he’s exposed in the past.
Though the winner gets a crack at UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the new year, there is a greater award awaiting Mir if he can hang, and possibly beat the revered Nogueira at his own game.
“I don’t think I can take him any more seriously than I already have,” said Mir of his greatest challenge yet.
