Frank Mir sat down with for a radio interview with Josh Gross from ESPN this week and discussed some different topics currently taking place in the MMA world.
Mir discussed many topics, including how he would like the opportunity to fight Fedor and that he has always wanted to do so. He also stated that he would like to fight Alistair Overeem and praised him for his K-1 wins.
Mir talked about the size differences in the UFC heavyweight division and how it shouldn’t be about just being a giant, being light, or whatever is trending. He just said that you should fight at the best weight that suits your style and made a few comparisons about what works for people.
Getting into the actual questions and quotes that I found interesting were as follows.
Mir was asked about how his win over Roy Nelson affects him and he replied,
“I think it keeps me right there in the talk about moving up. Strategically, though, I’m still one fight away if I want to be in a title fight. Obviously, dos Santos is fighting next for the title versus Velasquez and so, you know, hopefully I’ll be looking for one more fight before that. Maybe right now would be a good idea to try to fight (Shane) Carwin, you know, I’m coming off two wins in a row and he’s coming off two losses, I guess there’s a good argument for having a rematch where even though he won the first bout I’m the way up and he’s having a bit of a speed bump.”
He followed that up with saying how he has improved since his last fight with Carwin and wanting to get back into the Octagon as soon as possible. He said,
“Taking a off of couple weeks and get right back into training. Any time, you know, September would be a great time to get back in there. Really, honestly, if I could fight three times a year I think that would be best as far as staying active and not pushing yourself too much to where you’re not able to recover from injuries or any kind of training between fights”
Mir also discussed Brock Lesnar and what Lesnar is going through.
“Oh, I definitely do (feel sympathy for Brock). I mean, right now, what he’s going through is not having to do with us as competitors competing in the Octagon, you know, he’s a father, a husband, and he’s having health issues. I don’t wish that on anybody. I hope that he’s able to recover and provide a lifestyle for his family that they’re used to. That’s something that, you know, I have complete empathy for. I can’t imagine being in the same situation right now as far as, you know, being a father.”
Mir’s final comments were on the Junior Dos Santos/Cain Velasquez fight.
“I’m still not completely sold on dos Santos. (He hasn’t seen the UFC 131 fight between JDS/Carwin). I don’t know how well-rounded he is. Velasquez right now, though, I think is a hard match-up for everybody. I think he posses the one tool that is every heavyweight’s Achilles heel and that’s his cardio. It’s amazing that he has cardio on the same level as most Welterweights that are at the top of their cardio game. He’s shown to be extremely well-rounded as far as hands, take-downs. He threw Brock Lesnar around like a rag doll, I couldn’t believe it, I mean he out-struck him obviously but he picked him up and threw him down and I was blown away by that. Also, Brock with all that size and power couldn’t even hold him down once he had taken him down. So, right now, I’m pretty much if you tell me Cain Velasquez and anybody to name on the other end of that roster, I would bet on Cain Velasquez.”
To listen to the entire interview go to http://espn.go.com/espnradio/feeds/rss/podcast.xml?id=6220514 which also includes a discussion with Mark Munoz and a look at the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.
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