Francisco Santos Mir III, is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the Heavyweight division.
78 Facts About Frank Mir
2.
Frank Mir formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for sixteen years.
3.
Frank Mir possessed the longest uninterrupted tenure of any fighter in UFC history, competing for the company from 2001 to 2016.
4.
Frank Mir was the first man to knock out and the first to submit Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
5.
Frank Mir's father played a major role in convincing him to begin wrestling on the basis that it could help him avoid submissions.
6.
Frank Mir joined the wrestling team at Bonanza High School during his junior year and lost his first nine matches.
7.
Frank Mir played fullback and defensive end on the school's football team, which reached the Southern Zone semifinals in 1997.
8.
Frank Mir met UFC matchmaker Joe Silva at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school.
9.
Silva saw potential in Frank Mir and suggested that he compete in mixed martial arts.
10.
Frank Mir made his professional debut against Jerome Smith at HOOKnSHOOT: Showdown on July 14,2001.
11.
Frank Mir won the bout by unanimous decision after two rounds.
12.
Frank Mir won his second fight by triangle choke in the first round, against Dan Quinn at IFC Warriors Challenge 15 on August 31,2001.
13.
On November 2,2001, at UFC 34: High Voltage, Frank Mir made his UFC debut against 6th degree BJJ black belt Roberto Traven.
14.
Frank Mir defeated Traven by armbar at 1:05 of round one, earning "Tapout of the Night" in the process.
15.
Frank Mir submitted Williams in 46 seconds with an inside shoulder lock that has since been named after himself.
16.
Frank Mir faced Ian Freeman in London, England, at UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall on July 13,2002.
17.
Frank Mir then faced Tank Abbott at UFC 41 on February 28,2003.
18.
Frank Mir submitted Abbott with a toe hold in 46 seconds.
19.
On June 26,2003, Frank Mir fought Wes Sims at UFC 43: Meltdown.
20.
On June 19,2004, Frank Mir faced Tim Sylvia for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 48: Payback.
21.
Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight 50 seconds into the first round after Frank Mir broke Sylvia's right forearm with a straight armbar.
22.
Frank Mir was taken to a nearby hospital where an x-ray showed that his arm was broken in four places, two in both the radius and ulna bones of his right forearm.
23.
Frank Mir earned his BJJ black belt from Ricardo Pires following this performance.
24.
On September 17,2004, Frank Mir was knocked off his motorcycle by a car.
25.
An Interim Heavyweight Championship was created while Frank Mir recovered from surgery, which Andrei Arlovski won by defeating Tim Sylvia via first round submission.
26.
Frank Mir returned to the octagon on July 8,2006, at UFC 61: Bitter Rivals against Dan Christison.
27.
Frank Mir was widely criticized following the bout due to his sloppy appearance and inability to finish a seemingly mismatched opponent.
28.
Frank Mir showed improved striking ability but was quickly stunned by a straight right from Vera, who then dropped him with knees from the Muay Thai clinch.
29.
Frank Mir was scheduled to fight kickboxer Antoni Hardonk at UFC Fight Night 9 on April 5,2007, but had to drop out due to a shoulder injury.
30.
Frank Mir faced Hardonk at UFC 74 and won via kimura at 1:17 of the first round.
31.
On February 2,2008, at UFC 81, Frank Mir welcomed former WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar to the octagon for Lesnar's highly anticipated debut.
32.
Lesnar continued to land punches on Frank Mir and shucked off Frank Mir's armbar attempt before moving to a stacked guard.
33.
Frank Mir fought his fellow Ultimate Fighter coach, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, at UFC 92 for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.
34.
At UFC 100, Frank Mir was lively on his feet but proved unable to counter Lesnar's wrestling and positional dominance.
35.
Frank Mir took this opportunity to attempt a jumping right knee, which landed, but ultimately resulted in Lesnar securing another takedown.
36.
Frank Mir had his next fight against Cheick Kongo on December 12,2009, at UFC 107.
37.
Two months prior to this fight, Frank Mir replaced his striking coach Ken Hahn with boxing trainer Jimmy Gifford.
38.
Frank Mir later created controversy after commenting that he wanted to break Lesnar's neck, so that he would become the first mixed martial artist to die in competition.
39.
Frank Mir later made an apology for his comments after being admonished by Dana White.
40.
Frank Mir faced Shane Carwin for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship on March 27,2010, at UFC 111.
41.
Frank Mir lost the fight via knockout at 3:48 of the first round.
42.
At a UFC Fan Expo, Frank Mir said he briefly considered dropping down to the Light heavyweight division, although he later confirmed he would remain at Heavyweight.
43.
Frank Mir was expected to face Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on September 25,2010, at UFC 119 in a rematch of the Interim Championship bout which Mir won via TKO at UFC 92.
44.
Frank Mir faced former IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson on May 28,2011, at UFC 130.
45.
Frank Mir won via unanimous decision by using superior control and constant pressure.
46.
Frank Mir showed improved wrestling by pushing Nelson against the cage, completing a Judo hip throw and securing several takedowns in the third round.
47.
Frank Mir landed several hard knees and elbows from the Muay Thai clinch throughout the bout but was unable to finish the durable Nelson.
48.
Frank Mir quickly recovered and gained superior positioning, defeating Nogueira by kimura at 3:38 of round 1, snapping Nogueira's arm in the process, as Nogueira refused to tap.
49.
Frank Mir was expected to face Cain Velasquez on May 25,2012, at UFC 146.
50.
Frank Mir lost the fight via TKO in the second round and said he would have to go back to the drawing board to continue his career.
51.
Later in 2012, the UFC announced that Frank Mir had been given a one fight sabbatical to compete under the Strikeforce banner to challenge Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion Daniel Cormier.
52.
Frank Mir faced returning former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett on August 31,2013, at UFC 164.
53.
Frank Mir was scheduled to face Alistair Overeem on November 16,2013, at UFC 167.
54.
Frank Mir was expected to face Antonio Silva on February 28,2015, at UFC 184.
55.
Frank Mir faced Todd Duffee at UFC Fight Night 71 on July 15,2015.
56.
Frank Mir won the fight via knockout in the first round after dropping Duffee with a straight left.
57.
Frank Mir earned his second consecutive Performance of the Night bonus.
58.
Frank Mir faced Andrei Arlovski on September 5,2015, at UFC 191.
59.
Frank Mir lost the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision, although some, including UFC president Dana White, scored the fight in his favor.
60.
Frank Mir faced Mark Hunt on March 20,2016, at UFC Fight Night 85 in Brisbane, Australia.
61.
Frank Mir lost the fight via KO in the first round.
62.
On July 8,2017, Frank Mir announced that he had been granted his release from the UFC after nearly 16 years with the promotion, despite having six fights left on his contract.
63.
Frank Mir successfully won the first round by taking Ayala down and controlling him on the ground.
64.
However, Ayala rallied in the second round and Frank Mir eventually lost by TKO after tapping to punches that caused an alveolar ridge fracture.
65.
Frank Mir faced Roy Nelson in a rematch of their 2011 UFC bout on October 25,2019, in the main event of Bellator 231.
66.
In January 2019, Josh Barnett announced via Twitter that Frank Mir would be making his professional wrestling debut for Game Changer Wrestling's Bloodsport event, an independent wrestling event that features worked matches presented in an MMA style.
67.
Frank Mir defeated Severn, and post-match called out former UFC rival Brock Lesnar.
68.
On February 25,2021, Frank Mir announced he would be making his professional boxing debut against former multi-time light heavyweight and cruiserweight boxing champion Antonio Tarver on April 17 on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Ben Askren.
69.
Frank Mir instead faced former IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham at the event, losing by unanimous decision.
70.
On November 27,2021, Frank Mir faced Kubrat Pulev in the main event of a boxing vs MMA card promoted by Triller that featured other UFC veterans.
71.
Frank Mir was a color commentator for World Extreme Cagefighting until the 2010 WEC 47, when he was replaced by Stephan Bonnar.
72.
In June 2012, Frank Mir stated in an interview with The Chronicle-Journal that he wants to pursue commentary after he retires from fighting.
73.
Frank Mir was appointed in 2015 the color commentator for Absolute Championship Berkut.
74.
Frank Mir's oldest biological child, Bella, is a professional mixed martial artist.
75.
Frank Mir followed a vegan diet for a year but switched to a Paleo diet due to lack of energy.
76.
Frank Mir suffers from low testosterone and underwent testosterone replacement therapy from 2012 until its banning from combat sports in 2014.
77.
Frank Mir worked as a bouncer at the Spearmint Rhino in Las Vegas before entering the UFC and continued to work there as Director of Security while pursuing his UFC career.
78.
In January 2016, it was announced that Frank Mir would be inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.