With UFC 200 bearing down on the MMA world like a comet set to reset the sport, let us remember that former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir made his UFC debut at UFC 34. 34? 34? What were you doing on November 2, 2001 because Frank Mir was armbarring Roberto Traven in 65 seconds on 11/2/2001?
Before Mir headlines a UFC Fight Night in Australia this weekend versus Mark Hunt, the future UFC Hall of Famer wanted to take a moment to remind trolling MMA internet fans that fighters are people to.
Frank Mir posted this on Facebook. Some fans take things way too far. It's just a sport. pic.twitter.com/wwu9YfNtmO
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) March 15, 2016
When it comes to heavyweight MMA, Mir is a pioneer of the sport, a legend, and still an active top ten competitor in 2016. History may show Frank Mir’s career as being under rated when judged against other MMA big men of the same era.
So, MMA fans stop giving Frank Mir a hard time. Cut the Vegas Submission Machine some slack. It is not as if he recently said UFC heavyweights were better than Pride heavyweights. Why would he dig under that buried rock?
“I was told constantly if these three guys came over to the UFC, they’re going to clean house. It’s going to be the PRIDE show in the UFC,” Mir told MMAjunkie Radio. “The three big names from the PRIDE heavyweights that I had to hear about in the early 2000s were obviously Fedor (and) Nogueira – and I heard Nogueira directed specifically toward me because I’m the American version and he’s the better version. I’m the cheap version of Nogueira. I’m the knock-off. Then you have Mirko ‘Cro-Cop.’
“Everyone came over but Fedor. Fedor came over to an American show, but just not the UFC. He didn’t fare any better. He lost to (Antonio) ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, who smashed him. I have a win over ‘Bigfoot.’ I think that kind of settles that argument of what he would have done in the heavyweight division here in the UFC.”
Mir! Come on Mir!