Frank Mir experienced one of the worst defeats of his career earlier this month when he was forced to tap due to strikes against Javy Ayala at Bellator 212 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The finish came about after Mir lost his mouthpiece in the second round only to have Ayala’s punches fracture his alveolar ridge. The injury, which effects the jaw ridges, extensions of the mandible or maxilla, either on the roof of the mouth between the upper teeth and the hard palate or on the bottom of the mouth behind the lower teeth (via wikipedia), rendered Mir unable to continue and forced the former UFC champion to tap.
Mir, who was handed out a suspension of no less than 30 days, recently posted the following message to Facebook to discuss the loss and remind us all that the life of a mixed martial artist is a brutal one:
Fight Life
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Thank you for all the support and messages from everyone. It means a lot.
Thank you @bellatormma and to @…Posted by Frank Mir on Wednesday, December 19, 2018
“Fight life,” Mir wrote. “Thank you for all the support and messages from everyone. It means a lot. Thank you [Bellator MMA] and to [Javy Ayala], best of luck in your career.
Things don’t always go your way but you learned and keep moving forward.”
In addition to his social media post, Mir took some time to discuss his recent defeat during the latest edition of his “Phone Booth Fighting” podcast, hinting that it may be time to walk away from the sport.
“I would actually like to have a rematch with Javy, reason being is because really he was a testing moment for me to feel if I should continue fighting or not,” Mir said. “He’s somebody that doesn’t have – obviously, he hits hard, but so does every other heavyweight. But he was picked as an opponent that was a very winnable fight – should be if I’m worthy of still fighting, and so then it’s really a crossroads for me.
“Immediately after, I’m like, ‘Well, I lost. I guess it’s time to hang it up.’ But then going back and looking at it, knowing what I was going through and knowing that, ‘OK, well, I won the first round. Is it really time for me to hang it up?’ I think the only way to really answer that is to rematch with Javy Ayala again. If I come through short again and it doesn’t work out, then it is time to hang it up. If I can’t beat the Javy Ayalas, then I probably shouldn’t be fighting anymore.”
Mir, 39, has now lost four fights in a row including his first two under the Bellator MMA banner. Remember, the heavyweight veteran was knocked out by the legendary Fedor Emelianenko back in April as part of Bellator’s Heavy Grand Prix opening round. In total, Mir has been knocked out in each of his last three bouts.
That said, Mir did look good in his fight with Ayala prior to the stoppage. The veteran not only controlled Ayala on the ground with takedowns and top pressure, but he landed strong punches on the feet. Mir just happened to lose his mouthpiece at the wrong time against the wrong opponent and that was all she wrote.
If Mir decides to continue his professional fighting career entering 2019 I’m sure Bellator MMA will have no issue welcoming the heavyweight back with open arms.