When referee Herb Dean stopped the fight between Frank Mir and Tim Sylvia at UFC 48, the stunned live crowd booed.
Mir had Sylvia in an armbar. Sylvia did not tap, and showed no signs of being hurt.
When the replay showed though, it left one of the most shocking images in MMA history. Mir had snapped Sylvia’s arm, breaking it in four places.
Mir won the UFC heavyweight title that night, and looked to have a promising title run.
Mir’s run was cut short due to a motorcycle accident that occurred three months after winning the title. The accident caused Mir to be stripped of his title after being unable to defend it.
Mir struggled to be the fighter he once was when he returned, going just 1-2 in his first three fights back.
It was not until Mir faced Antoni Hardonk that he looked like the champion he once was.
Mir would go to make Brock Lesnar tap in his first UFC fight, and become the first person to make beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by TKO.
The Nogueira fight was the first of three championship fights that Mir has been featured in within the last three years.
Whether he’s in the right place at the right time or he truly deserves it, Frank Mir seemed like the go to guy for the heavyweight championship.
But after he lost to both Lesnar and Shane Carwin in championship matches, and beating an aging Mirko Cro Cop in a lackluster fight, you have to wonder if Mir will ever reach championship from again.
MIr is only 32 years old and has proved he can be a threat on the ground or on the feet. But with younger fighters like UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos taking over the top spots of the division, the door of championship opportunity may be closing on Mir.
Add the fact that Mir has been inconsistent in his last five fights and was panned by Dana White after the Cro Cop fight, and Mir could be looking at a permanent division gatekeeper job.
If Mir is to become a heavyweight contender again he must start by getting past Roy Nelson at UFC 130.
Nelson, the Ultimate Fighter heavyweights winner, one of the heavyweight division’s most well-rounded and toughest fighters, despite looking like he’s out of shape.
The two fighters faced each other once before in a grappling tournament. A much slimmer Nelson got the better of Mir.
Mir will have to get past Nelson and put on an exciting fight if he wants to get back in the good graces of Dana White.
Mir will also have to prove he can back up all of his prefight hype he usually does against the top fighters in the division for future fights.
Nothing is impossible in this sport. But if Mir loses, his UFC title hopes could be done.
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