Fighting a who’s who among the elite of the UFC heavyweight division for the best part of two decades. Frank Mir is a name that flies under the radar when it comes to naming the greatest MMA bigmen. A former interim and undisputed UFC champion, despite his immense success Mir feels he was unfairly compensated during his run at the top.
With an overall MMA record of 19-13 and a UFC record of 16-11, he holds 15 finishes nine via way of submission all in the first round. Mir fought among the very best for the duration of his career. Some of the names he has competed against include Brock Lesnar, Daniel Cormier, Fedor Emelianenko and Junior dos Santos, among others.
His biggest career win came when he defeated Tim Sylvia via armbar at UFC 48 to win his first UFC championship. Before a motorcycle accident forced Mir to relinquish his title and take over a year away from the cage. After making his return his form was indifferent seeing him go 1-2, with all hope of reaching the top again potentially gone.
Almost three years after his career-threatening crash. Frank Mir hit top form and put together three career-defining victories. His first was a kimura over Antoni Hardonk at UFC 74. This then led to a block bust fight with former WWE megastar Brock Lesnar in Lesnar’s first UFC bout. Mir would stun the MMA world and secure a kneebar victory at UFC 81.
Frank Mir’s third victory in this run saw him become the first man to finish the Brazilian legend Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (34-4-1 at the time) via second-round KO at UFC 92. This victory saw Mir earn his second belt as he claimed Interim UFC Heavyweight gold.
Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir Feels He Should Have Made More Money During Illustrious Career
Despite all the above-mentioned success Frank Mir feels he didn’t earn the money he should have from MMA. In an interview from April 2023, the now 44-year-old discussed his pay compared to the top stars of Boxing and today.
“For example, I saw a boxing match between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder – their second fight – I think we actually beat their pay-per-view buys.” Continuing. “Both those guys made multiple millions of dollars, I never hit seven figures.”
“That made me realise, ‘Oh, wow! I was the main event of that card [UFC 100], and I didn’t get seven figures and these guys got eight figures. It blew my mind and that was probably my first opening to go, “This card generated $50 million, who made the money?”
Frank Mir would then explain the following: “When you see an MMA fighter who is struggling after his career, people don’t really say, ‘Oh, he didn’t manage his money well.’ It’s ‘Well, they are not compensated for what they generate.’
Quotes per TalkSport
Does Frank Mir have a point in regards to UFC fighter Pay?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
