ironworks
10-17-2014, 09:28 PM
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir has unfinished business with Brock Lesnar.
The pair were pivotal to the sport's boom period highlighted by UFC 100 in 2009. With Lesnar's help, Mir believes he can recapture some of that momentum despite riding an 0-4 skid since 2012.
"I think that [Lesnar's] come back would be good for MMA," Mir told Combate (via Bloody Elbow). "He's still popular, people know who he is and he brings attention. We are tied with one win each. I would enjoy a rubber match. I would like to welcome him back to the UFC."
Prior to losing the unified heavyweight title to Lesnar at UFC 100, Mir caught the WWE star with a 'Submission of the Year' kneebar at UFC 81 in 2008. Claiming the award again three years later against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mir has said he wouldn't be adverse to facing the PRIDE legend for a third time.
"Nogueira and I are very competitive but I have nothing against him outside the Octagon," said Mir. "I like him as a person, so, sometimes, it's hard [for] the fans to understand. However, when we face each other, I always want to win. People think that you always have to talk about your rival. It's the case with Lesnar because I don't like him as a person."
Mir earned the interim title with a second-round TKO of Nogueira at UFC 92, but it was his submission over the Brazilian at UFC 140 that remains a lasting image with fans. Even years later, Mir says it's uncomfortable to watch film of himself forcing Nogueira to tap for the first time in his career.
"I started to pressure and he was very flexible. I started to look in the referee's direction waiting for him to stop the fight, so I wouldn't need to keep pressure. I don't think that I was slow enough but his arm was strange. At the moment, I thought that I had dislocated his arm, not broken.
"When I arrived at my home, my wife's friends had recorded the fight and we watched together. I stopped when Nogueira's arm popped, I couldn't watch. They asked me why and I answered, 'I remember it differently. He was punching my face at that time. Watching it from my couch isn't nice.'"
The pair were pivotal to the sport's boom period highlighted by UFC 100 in 2009. With Lesnar's help, Mir believes he can recapture some of that momentum despite riding an 0-4 skid since 2012.
"I think that [Lesnar's] come back would be good for MMA," Mir told Combate (via Bloody Elbow). "He's still popular, people know who he is and he brings attention. We are tied with one win each. I would enjoy a rubber match. I would like to welcome him back to the UFC."
Prior to losing the unified heavyweight title to Lesnar at UFC 100, Mir caught the WWE star with a 'Submission of the Year' kneebar at UFC 81 in 2008. Claiming the award again three years later against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mir has said he wouldn't be adverse to facing the PRIDE legend for a third time.
"Nogueira and I are very competitive but I have nothing against him outside the Octagon," said Mir. "I like him as a person, so, sometimes, it's hard [for] the fans to understand. However, when we face each other, I always want to win. People think that you always have to talk about your rival. It's the case with Lesnar because I don't like him as a person."
Mir earned the interim title with a second-round TKO of Nogueira at UFC 92, but it was his submission over the Brazilian at UFC 140 that remains a lasting image with fans. Even years later, Mir says it's uncomfortable to watch film of himself forcing Nogueira to tap for the first time in his career.
"I started to pressure and he was very flexible. I started to look in the referee's direction waiting for him to stop the fight, so I wouldn't need to keep pressure. I don't think that I was slow enough but his arm was strange. At the moment, I thought that I had dislocated his arm, not broken.
"When I arrived at my home, my wife's friends had recorded the fight and we watched together. I stopped when Nogueira's arm popped, I couldn't watch. They asked me why and I answered, 'I remember it differently. He was punching my face at that time. Watching it from my couch isn't nice.'"