Frank Mir

Frank Mir is a popular American Mixed Martial Artist. Born as Francisco Santos Mir III on May 24, 1979 in Las Vegas, Nevada Frank already had a martial arts family history. He learnt his basics of fighting from his parent's Kempo Karate School. By the time he turned five, Frank was already winning tournaments and  trophies and eventually, he earned his black belt.  Reaching a towering height of six feet at the age of twelve, he started challenging older kids that developed his skills further. Watching the coverage of the first-ever UFC event in 1993 proved to be a turning point in Frank Mir's life. This was the match that inspired Mir's father to convince him to take up wrestling even though the young man was really adamant about it. Following this Frank lost his first seven matches but then won the state heavyweight wrestling title in 1998. Today he competes in the heavyweight division of the UFC as an ex-heavyweight champion and also serves as a commentator for World Extreme Cagefighting.

Frank Mir's MMA career started when he first met Joe Silva who saw the potential in young Mir and wanted to see him challenge fighters of the MMA community. In July 2001 on HOOKnSHOOT: Showdown Frank Mir made his debut vs. Jerome Smith, winning after a couple of rounds by judges' decision. On November 2, 2001, Mir won against Roberto Travern, which earned him the "Tapout of the Night" award. As a comeback victory, at UFC 43 in 2003 Frank Mir defeated Wes Sims and at UFC 46: Supernatural a year later. He challenged Tim Sylvia at UFC 48: Payback and won the UFC heavyweight championship.

In 2006, a massive motorcycle accident broke Mir's femur bone and tore his knee ligaments. This major injury did not finish off his fighting career, although the UFC stripped him off the heavyweight title after fourteen months and promoted Andrei Arlovski as the new champion. February 2006 marked the return of Frank Mir, but it resulted in an insulting defeat by a newbie in the initial round itself. On July 2006, a bulkier Mir returned to defeat Dan Christison in the fourth round. In a historical fight at UFC 81 on February 2008, Frank Mir caused Brock Lesnar to tap out at 1:30 of the first round.

Frank Mir currently resides in his hometown Las Vegas with his wife and three children and continues to train.Mir is sometimes considered as one-dimensional because of his tendency to end each match with a submission. But he is improving on his improvisation and striking techniques with training, as he still recovers from injuries. He believes he still has a long way to go to return to his normal physical condition and even from there he wants to improve further. Hopefully in the near future, with his hard work and determination, Frank will have a successful shot at reclaiming his lost glory.