The UFC heavyweight division is known for being filled with larger-than-life big men who can knock you out with one punch. However, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir could not only knock you out, but he could also submit you any way he wanted to. Throughout his UFC career, 13 elite heavyweights were either knocked out or forced to tap out at the hands of Mir.
For 15 years, Mir was one of the top heavyweights in the UFC. Since leaving the world’s premier MMA organization, Mir has brought his talents to Bellator, the boxing ring, and professional wrestling. Overall, Mir’s combat fighting career is full of pivotal moments that all combat fans should know about.
10 2001 Debut
Frank Mir made his MMA debut in 2001. In just five months, Mir fought three times. In his third fight, Mir would make his UFC debut.
Mir’s first two fights took place outside the UFC, with his second fight being against former Notre Dame football player Dan Quinn. Mir’s first fight ended with a decision victory. His second fight ended with a triangle choke victory. At UFC 34, Mir made his UFC debut and defeated Roberto Traven with an armbar.
9 UFC Heavyweight Champion
With less than three years of experience in the sport, Mir managed to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
In his first nine fights, Mir only suffered one loss. Leading up to his first title fight, Mir earned notable wins against Tank Abbott and Wes Sims. At UFC 48, Mir fought Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, which was vacant at the time. During the fight, Mir locked on an armbar and defeated Sylvia by technical submission in the first minute of their fight.
8 Motorcycle Accident
Mir’s first UFC title reign would not go as planned. Just three months after winning the title, Mir would be involved in a motorcycle accident that would force him not to compete for almost two years.
The UFC tried to give Mir time to recover, but after not being able to fight for over a year, the promotion stripped him of the title. Upon his return, Mir struggled. He lost two of his first three fights back in 2006. However, Mir would later go on a three-fight win streak that would result in his next title win.
7 Interim Title
In 2007, at UFC 74, Mir got his career back on track with a submission win over Antoni Hardonk. A few months later, at UFC 81, Mir won his highest profiled fight when he submitted Brock Lesnar in the former WWE champion’s UFC debut.
Following the two wins, Mir was granted an opportunity to fight for an interim UFC heavyweight title. At the time, current UFC champion Randy Couture was having a contract dispute. As a result, Mir and Antonio Nogueira coached a season of The Ultimate Fighter and then fought for the title. At UFC 92, Mir defeated Nogueira by technical knockout and once again held a UFC championship.
6 Brock Lesnar Rivalry
After submitting Lesnar in 2008, Mir and Lesnar became bitter rivals. This led to one of the biggest pay-per-view events in UFC history.
While Mir was winning the interim title, Randy Couture’s contract situation was solved, and he defended his title against Lesnar, who would win the fight and become champion. With Lesnar and Mir both holding UFC titles, the two would fight in 2009 at UFC 100. On that night, Lesnar defeated Mir by technical knockout.
5 JDS Title Fight
Following his loss to Lesnar, Mir saw mixed results in the octagon. In his next fight, Mir defeated Cheick Kongo and was put in another interim title fight, but failed to defeat Shane Carwin.
Following the loss to Carwin, Mir would win three-consecutive fights to earn another opportunity at the UFC Heavyweight Championship. After defeating Mirko Cro Cop, Roy Nelson, and Antonio Nogueira, Mir found himself in a title fight against then-champion Junior Dos Santos. In 2012, at UFC 146, Dos Santos defeated Mir by TKO. This would be Mir’s last fight for UFC gold.
4 2-Year Suspension
After the loss to Junior dos Santos, Mir would fight seven more times in the UFC, but he was only able to win two of those fights.
Following a knockout loss to Mark Hunt in 2016, Mir tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended from the sport for two years. Mir denied ever taking any performance-enhancing drugs but was still suspended by USADA. During his suspension, Mir was released from his contract with the UFC ending his 15-year run with the promotion.
3 Bellator Run
Once his suspension was over, Mir returned to the sport of MMA, but this time he fought in the Bellator MMA cage.
Mir made his Bellator debut in 2018 and fought MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. In less than one minute, Mir was knocked out. Mir would return later in the year, but once again suffered a knockout loss, this time it was at the hands of Javy Ayala. In his third and last Bellator fight, in 2019, Mir won a decision against Roy Nelson.
2 Boxing
In 2021, Mir made his professional boxing debut on the undercard of the highly publicized Jake Paul versus Ben Askren fight.
Mir was outmatched by Steve Cunningham, a boxer who was competing in his 40th fight. Cunningham won the match by unanimous decision. While Mir has shared the cage with some of the best MMA fighters in the world, Cunningham has experience sharing the ring with arguably the greatest boxer today. In 2013, Cunningham had lost to undefeated world champion Tyson Fury.
1 Professional Wrestling
In 2019, Mir made his professional wrestling debut. During WrestleMania 35 weekend, Mir wrestled fellow former UFC fighter Dan Severn at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport.
Mir won his professional wrestling debut and made headlines by calling out Brock Lesnar after his match. That weekend, Lesnar was competing in a world title match at WrestleMania. However, Mir did not receive good publicity with the callout due to threatening to kill Lesnar in the ring, since he could not do it in an MMA cage.