Frank Mir says it would be a “huge honour” to face legendary MMA heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko in the Octagon.
Mir spoke to Fox Sports after he knocked out Todd Duffee in 73 seconds during Wednesday night’s UFC Fight Night 71. He remains a massive fan of Fedor, and having worked his way through former PRIDE opponents, such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop, he would love a shot at the Russian who hasn’t fought since 2012.
“An opportunity to face him would be a huge honor,” Mir said, as reported by Damon Martin of Fox Sports. “I might just (be) on the selfish side (and would) want him to face somebody first so he could showcase to everybody that he’s still a monster and a scary dude and kind of remind fans of who Fedor is, but after that yeah.”
Mir maintained he has “a lot of respect for Fedor,” despite three of his four career losses coming in a turbulent period between 2010-11.
“I think he just had a couple of bad fights there because the guy had 30 fights where he just ran through everybody,” Mir said. “I think maybe he questioned himself and had some doubt and kind of basically did what I did. He’s taking some time off and probably found himself.”
Mir earmarked Fedor as “a very powerful, explosive, very savvy fighter,” per Martin.
This description won’t be lost on anyone who has ever seen the 38-year-old in battle. Fedor’s knockout punching power is his obvious montage-maker, but he’s a world-class wrestler and a vicious worker on the ground. This is reflected in 11 of his 34 wins coming via TKO/KO and 15 ending via submission, as recorded by ESPN.
Fedor is more than adept at locking in a Kimura, a rear-naked choke or a guillotine. Mir, too, has made a career not only of powering his opponents to the floor but by ending their hopes with a devastating submission hold.
The American is an inventive finisher and is often able to quickly end dangerous fights by taking them to the ground. Big Nog, Brock Lesnar and Cheick Kongo are among those who will vouch for that. As we saw against Duffee, Mir is capable of weathering an early storm to assert himself, an ability which would test an ageing Fedor to the max.
Fedor has never fought in the UFC, despite widely being considered one of the sport’s absolute best. He appeared as the big-name star of two M-1 Global cards sandwiched between his 2011 win over Satoshi Ishii in the now defunct DREAM organisation.
As noted by Martin, the fighter and his representatives haven’t always seen eye-to-eye with UFC President Dana White. However, White gave reason to be optimistic in a brief exchange with Fox Sports, per Martin: “We’ll see what happens. We’ll see how this thing plays out.”
Fedor’s name, whether placed opposite Mir or not, would be a huge draw for the UFC. White may be inclined to give the iconic brawler an easy run across a multiple-fight deal if he does decide to come out of retirement.
Even to this day, a fight against Mir would rank among the biggest.
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