Mir: I was young and brash not old and crafty
Frank Mir: “But today my emotion got the best of me leading up to the fight … I kept hearing ‘old and crafty’ … I just wanted to show young and brash.”
Heavyweights have the ability to readily end the fight and lights with a single shot. That can lead to degree of caution, sometimes a high degree. Todd Duffee came out Wednesday night like Honey Badger, and then Frank Mir followed suit.
Anything could have happened, but it was Mir who landed the perfect shot, beating all the light of Duffee. It was over in 72 seconds.
Mir had lost four in a row and was contemplating retirement.
Even before Wednesday’s fight there was a little mirth.
The Spartan @EliasTheodorou
Frank Mir s “Dad Bod” is on point. Boom!
Now Frank Mir has his second consecutive, performance-bonus-winning, against-the-odds victory. He may even be in the title contenders mix.
I was trying to be more intelligent,” said Mir at the post-fight press conference, as transcribed by Matt Erickson for MMAjunkie. “But today my emotion got the best of me leading up to the fight. And I just bit down on my mouthpiece and wanted to make a statement. I kept hearing ‘old and crafty,’ so I guess I was kind of dumb tonight and just wanted to show young and brash.
I think heavyweights mature later in life. We come upon ourselves older. … Hopefully I don’t have to answer any more am I going to retire questions.
The UFC heavyweight division now has champion Fabricio Werdum, with Cain Velasquez as #1 contender and JDS not far behind. Stipe Miocic is in the mix. And then you have the surging veterans.
Ben Rothwell, 33, went 3-4 before his current three-fight streak. Andrei Arlovski, 36, lost four in a row before his current 9-1 (with 1 NC) streak. And we have Frank Mir, who may be the last fighter from when ZUFFA bought the UFC, looking at a bright future.
