Mir warns Fedor: I’m the king of taking limbs
Frank Mir: “I still have almost twice as many submissions as [Fabricio Werdum] does. When it comes to taking a limb, I’m still the king.”
The Bellator MMA World Heavyweight Grand Prix 2018 is now underway. First, Chael Sonnen took a Unanimous Decision over ‘Rampage’ Jackson at Bellator 192. Then Roy Nelson rematches Matt Mitrione at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on February 16, 2018. And third, the greatest heavyweight of all time Fedor Emelianenko will fight former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at Bellator 196 on April 28 in Rosemont, Illinois.
Mir told MMAjunkie he had a single thought when told about the opening round match up.
Damn, that’s a tough first fight, he said. No joke, Fedor is still a phenomenal fighter. I know a lot of people don’t have the eyes that I have, and they look at him and go, ‘Well, look at his results.’ And that’s easy to say in our sport, you know. … Fedor is extremely good. He’s still very quick. He hasn’t lost his power in his punches. Even when he threw the punch against Mitrione, Mitrione fell down. Mitrione is a big guy.
I think the difference I try to explain to everybody, [people will say] ‘Well, he used to be unbeatable.’ Yeah, that’s not because he’s gotten worse. Everybody has gotten better.
Fedor had by far the greatest run in heavyweight history. The 29-fight streak started on April 6, 2001, and ended on June 26, 2010, for more than nine years. Add four fights and a year if you discount the bogus cut stoppage vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Of his 29 fights, if you throw out the no contest, there were five decisions out of 28, meaning a finishing percentage of 82%. Ten were against fighters who at some point in their careers held major MMA championships, and that doesn’t include his high profile career win over Mirko Cro Cop.
That streak ended when he got armbarred by Fabrcio Werdum.
I still have almost twice as many submissions as [Werdum] does, said Mir. When it comes to taking a limb, I’m still the king.
The final opening-round fight will be Ryan Bader vs. Muhammed Lawal at an event to be named in May at SAP Center in San Jose, California. The tournament alternates are Javy Ayala and Cheick Kongo.
