UFC interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir stopped by Pro MMA Radio last Monday and talked to host Larry Pepe about Lesner, Nogueira, and much more.
Here are some highlights from their discussion:
Frank Mir had a very impressive second round TKO of the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92. Mir credits fighting a legend and idol in helping him get motivated and ready for the fight.
Mir denies any possibility in underestimating Lesner in their rematch just because he owns a previous victory over him. He wants to perform at his best and have an impressive win over him, like his performance over Nogueira.
Mir already owns a victory over Lesner but is looking to go out and have another impressive performance, “I want to be able to dominate him from the opening round until the very end and make it a statement. Ya know I have already proven I can beat him and that’s fine, but ya know the first fight he was winning the first 70 seconds or so of it, the first 1:00 to a 1:15 he was in charge. He made a mistake and I submitted him. I want to be able to turn that around and go for a round or two, or however long he can last and completely decimate him and make another statement like I did on the 27th.”
Mir believes that Randy Couture was in control of his fight against Brock Lesner until he got caught. He thinks that even though Lesner did take Couture down that he did not do anything with it and in order for the take downs to mean anything some type of punishment has to be given.
He also goes on to mention that if not for Lesner holding on to the cage Couture would have had one of his classic take downs right before the end of the first round, which may have changed the fight.
Mir was also a little disappointed and surprised when he heard that Lesner would be getting a title shot. He was hoping that Randy could wait and fight the winner of himself and Nogueira, because he wanted to fight Couture himself. He was surprised veterans with better records, such as Shane Carwin and Gabriel Gonzaga, got passed over when looking for the next number one contender.
He realizes that it’s all about the business and that even though Lesner did step over people, he is a huge pay-per-view seller and he is very good for pulling in money.
Mir does not believe that Kimbo and Lesner are even in the same league. He doesn’t believe Kimbo is even a fighter and if he were to get in a cage with Lesner, he would not even last 30 seconds without getting slammed on his head.
He does not think words can do justice how much his camp has helped him and he does not think he needs to go to a bigger gym to grow as a fighter, “I definitely have guys who push me really hard, but the bottom line is it’s all about whether you really wanna push yourself.”
He was very frustrated in coaching Junie Browning on “The Ultimate Fighter 8” because he was a great talent who was just having a lot of internal problems but is happy Junie has changed his ways now, “Im glad now that he’s with somebody who ya know, can reign him in. I wish I could have done a better job for him to help him out on the show…”
He was actually hoping that Junie would be kicked off the show after throwing the glass at fellow fighter David Kaplan because he did not want the image of MMA to be tarnished and ruined.
Frank also talked about how eliminating the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions from the WEC was a great move because of the fact neither division was that strong in the UFC or WEC and this way there is the one true champion and no one has to hear how they are a champion in the “minor leagues”.
Be on the lookout in months to come for one of the most anticipated rematches in a long time when Brock Lesner and Frank Mir meet up to unify the heavyweight championships.
To hear this entire interview and all of their free archives go to Pro MMA Radio at www.prommaradio.com. Pro MMA Radio with host Larry Pepe airs every Monday evening at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.
By: Tim Thompson