Tag: UFC 81

Frank Mir reveals he failed to crack $1,000,000 paydays for UFC fights with Brock Lesnar: ‘It blew my mind’

Frank Mir reveals he failed to earn one million for either UFC fight with Brock LesnarFormer undisputed heavyweight champion, Frank Mir claims he failed to crack the $1,000,000 mark in either of his massive fights with fellow former titleholder, Brock Lesnar during his time with the UFC – featuring in blockbuster pay-per-view fights against the latter on two separate occasions. Mir, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of […]

Frank Mir reveals he failed to earn one million for either UFC fight with Brock Lesnar

Former undisputed heavyweight champion, Frank Mir claims he failed to crack the $1,000,000 mark in either of his massive fights with fellow former titleholder, Brock Lesnar during his time with the UFC – featuring in blockbuster pay-per-view fights against the latter on two separate occasions.

Mir, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, initially met WWE superstar, Lesnar back in 2008 in the co-main event of a UFC 81 card, submitting the latter with a stunning opening round kneebar.

Competing in the main event of the monumental UFC 100 event in the summer of 2009 against Lesnar, Mir would suffer an eventual second round ground strikes TKO loss to the latter.

Frank Mir admits he was not fairly compensated during his UFC tenure

Reflecting on his time with the promotion and his period in various other promotions since his 2016 Octagon departure, Mir revealed he failed to crack the million dollar mark in either of his heralded fights against Lesnar.

“Not at all,” Frank Mir told TalkSPORT reporter, Jordan Ellis when asked if he felt he had been failr compensated during his UFC tenure. “For example, I saw a boxing match between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder – their second fight – I think we [him and Brock Lesnar] breat their pay-per-view buys. Both those guys made multiple millions of dollars, I never hit seven figures. That made me realize, ‘Oh, wow. I was the main event of that card [UFC 100], and I didn’t get seven figures and these guys got eight figures.’”

“It blew my mind,” Frank Mir explained. “And that was probably my first opening to go, ‘This card generated $50,000,000, who made the money?’ So, that’s one of the things that I want to fix about our sport, when a card makes $25,000,000, the company can $10,000,000, but the rest is divided by the fighters.” [Transcribed by MMA Mania]

Last competing in professional mixed martial arts at Bellator 231 back in October 2019, Mir managed to hand a unanimous decision loss to fellow former UFC heavyweight, Roy Nelson in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

Classic Fight: Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 [VIDEO]

(Match starts at the 10:48 mark. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

To hype up Frank Mir‘s return to the Octagon at UFC 164 this coming Saturday, the UFC has released one of Frank’s career highlights — his first-round submission victory against pro-wrestling star Brock Lesnar at UFC 81, back in February 2008. Lesnar had first dipped his toes into the MMA pool the previous June, when he swallowed up Min Soo Kim at Dynamite!! USA in Los Angeles. That was enough to earn him an invitation to the UFC, but his debut fight would not be an easy one.

Lesnar wasted absolutely no time in dumping Mir on his back and firing some nasty shots from above. Then, referee Steve Mazzagatti makes a rather controversial choice, halting the action after Lesnar lands some punches to the back of Mir’s head. Theoretically, it’s the right call to make; Lesnar clearly lands at least four rabbit-punches at the video’s 11:08-11:12 mark. But how many times have you actually seen a UFC referee enforce that rule so quickly, without previous warnings? The Mazz deducts a point from Lesnar and re-starts the action with the fighters in a standing position. It’s a lucky break for Mir, who gets a moment to clear the cobwebs.


(Match starts at the 10:48 mark. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

To hype up Frank Mir‘s return to the Octagon at UFC 164 this coming Saturday, the UFC has released one of Frank’s career highlights — his first-round submission victory against pro-wrestling star Brock Lesnar at UFC 81, back in February 2008. Lesnar had first dipped his toes into the MMA pool the previous June, when he swallowed up Min Soo Kim at Dynamite!! USA in Los Angeles. That was enough to earn him an invitation to the UFC, but his debut fight would not be an easy one.

Lesnar wasted absolutely no time in dumping Mir on his back and firing some nasty shots from above. Then, referee Steve Mazzagatti makes a rather controversial choice, halting the action after Lesnar lands some punches to the back of Mir’s head. Theoretically, it’s the right call to make; Lesnar clearly lands at least four rabbit-punches at the video’s 11:08-11:12 mark. But how many times have you actually seen a UFC referee enforce that rule so quickly, without previous warnings? The Mazz deducts a point from Lesnar and re-starts the action with the fighters in a standing position. It’s a lucky break for Mir, who gets a moment to clear the cobwebs.

That is, until Lesnar punches Mir to the mat — or did Mir fall down on purpose, to bait him? — and gets back on top. As Brock fires down punches, Mir establishes guard, then wraps up Lesnar’s leg when Lesnar makes the mistake of standing up. Mir grabs a kneebar, and Brock taps.

For those MMA fans who felt that a pro-wrestler could never be competitive in “real fighting,” it was a satisfying moment to see the big man toppled. But Lesnar was far from finished: He dominated Heath Herring in his next UFC fight, TKO’d Randy Couture to become the UFC heavyweight champion (!), wrecked Frank Mir in a rematch at UFC 100 that took in 1.6 million pay-per-view buys, and defended his belt for the second time in a classic comeback-fight against Shane Carwin at UFC 116.

Eventually, diverticulitis and an inability to hang with dangerous strikers sent Brock packing back to the WWE. But from 2008-2010, Lesnar really was the “Next Big Thing” in MMA, and Frank Mir deserves much of the credit for putting him over.

Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir: The Rubber Match That Everyone Wants to See

Although Brock Lesnar officially retired in December of 2011, I think there’s still more fight in him. There’s at least one more fight on his contract and a potential for possibly the biggest fight trilogy in UFC history.  In Lesnar’s UFC de…

Although Brock Lesnar officially retired in December of 2011, I think there’s still more fight in him. There’s at least one more fight on his contract and a potential for possibly the biggest fight trilogy in UFC history. 

In Lesnar’s UFC debut, he lost to Frank Mir by a knee bar and was furious at the referee for a questionable point deduction for striking Mir in the back of the head. This foul led to the fight being returned to the feet and possibly a change in the outcome.

At the point of the foul, Lesnar was dominating Mir on the mat with powerful ground-and-pound shots and was likely close to a technical knockout. The controversial call made by Steve Mazzagatti induced the fans’ uncertainty in his ability to referee a match.

In most instances of strikes to the back of the head, the fighter is verbally warned. It didn’t appear that Mazzagatti gave Lesnar any warnings. 

Their bout at UFC 81 led to a war of words that lasted over a year until they fought again at UFC 100 on July 11, 2009. Lesnar discredited Mir’s jiu-jitsu style while Mir mocked Lesnar’s inability to defend it.

Lesnar called Mir “a glorified Karate Kid” as Mir claimed to “enjoy poking at the bear.” Lesnar couldn’t wait to avenge his first and only loss and Mir wanted to silence any question of whether he could finish Lesnar without help from the official.

When their next meeting was finally scheduled for UFC 100, it was to unify the UFC heavyweight championship. Lesnar had just won the belt against Randy Couture and Mir had won the interim title against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

In their second fight, Lesnar turned Mir’s face into a bloody mess as he secured Mir’s head in his left arm and controlled his wrists. Lesnar continuously landed on Mir’s face with unbelievable power until Herb Dean was forced to stop the fight. It was not pretty and neither was their post-fight confrontation.

As Mir was being helped to his feet, Lesnar walked up to him and apparently yelled, “Talk all the sh*t you want now!” He continued on to bash Mir on the microphone while also bashing one of the UFC’s primary advertisers and saying, “I might even get on top of my wife tonight.”

Boos filled the stadium and Lesnar encouraged them. He is infamous for his post-fight behavior at UFC 100 and has played the “bad guy” ever since. He has many fans and possibly more who love to hate him. 

If Lesnar ever decides to return, he will have the perfect opportunity to take part in possibly the biggest event and maybe the biggest paycheck in MMA history while completing a trilogy with his rival. Mir would never pass up an opportunity like this and has stated the desire for a rubber match in the past. 

This is a great matchup specifically because they’ve fought twice before. Lesnar will be much more cautious of Mir’s submissions while Mir may avoid the ground completely. Mir knows how to beat Lesnar. Not only has he done it before, but he’s seen Carwin come close and Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem finish him.

I don’t see either fighter making the same mistakes they made in their respective losses. For this reason, I can imagine an unforgettable war that could be the perfect end to a great rivalry and a great career for Lesnar. 

Despite Lesnar’s dominant performance in both previous meetings, I’d pick Mir in the finale. Mir should realize that Lesnar does have the wrestling ability, strength and size to smother him and most chances of a submission.

Lesnar’s biggest weakness is his striking game and it’s been exposed in his last three fights. Mir’s striking skills have vastly improved since he joined the UFC and he possesses the speed and power to finish Lesnar.

The only question is: Can he keep the fight standing? I believe it’s only a matter of time until we find out.

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UFC: Ranking Every Submission Win in the Career of Frank Mir

After UFC 140 there was a passing of the torch, so to speak, when Frank Mir put any thoughts to rest of who is the best Heavyweight submission specialist in the sport of mixed martial arts, earning his ninth submission victory.In Mir’s nine&n…

After UFC 140 there was a passing of the torch, so to speak, when Frank Mir put any thoughts to rest of who is the best Heavyweight submission specialist in the sport of mixed martial arts, earning his ninth submission victory.

In Mir’s nine wins by way of submission, Frank has utilized an amazing seven different types of submission holds to gain victory over his opponents.

With his most recent win, Frank Mir has solidified himself as a top three contender in the Heavyweight division and will be remembered for being the first and only man to defeat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by both knockout stoppage and submission stoppage.

I thought it would be fun to rank every submission victory by Mir in order of importance to his career. And with his many different types of submissions I thought it would be a good way to brush up on the history of Frank Mir.

So let’s begin!

Begin Slideshow