Frank Mir agrees to deal with Bellator MMA

[TheEmperorRises]

Another familiar face is headed to Bellator.

Frank Mir has agreed to terms with the promotion, MMA Fighting has learned. Bellator is expected to officially announce his signing in the coming days.

Last month, Mir, 38, was granted his release from the UFC.

Following his March 2016 loss to Mark Hunt in Australia, Mir tested positive for oral turinabol metabolites in a United States Anti-Doping Agency drug test. As a result, Mir, who maintains his innocence, is serving a two-year suspension that expires in April 2018. He is not expected to fight for Bellator before then.

Mir, the former UFC heavyweight champion, had been with the company since 2001. The last time he fought for another organization was 16 years ago.

Considered one of the greatest big men of all time, Mir (18-11) holds notable wins over Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (twice), Roy Nelson and Mirko Cro Cop.

Mir will become the latest familiar UFC face to sign with Bellator, joining the likes of Phil Davis, Matt Mitrione, Benson Henderson, Rory MacDonald, and most recently Gegard Mousasi, among others, who recently made the jump.


Full story here:
Frank Mir agrees to deal with Bellator MMA

 

[SongExotic2]

He's after that Fedor fight

 

[TheEmperorRises]

He's after that Fedor fight

He'll mention his wins over Big Big and Cro Cop, and say something about Pride being dead while completely ignoring his losses to Overeem and Barnett.

They'll book him against Fedor, but I wish they'd sign Werdum, then start them on the ground.

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

I don't want to see him fight again.

Although maybe the time away will help his brain heal a bit and he may be able to take a couple of punches before he suffers from baby deer legs.


I'm glad for these guys to have a home if they choose to still compete but I'm not in favor of them actually continuing on.

 

[wiz]

fedor will take the mir fight, it's pretty much the only fight that makes sense right now

 

[Hong Kong Phooey]

I wonder if Timmays arm is hanging over the fireplace

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

Bellator should rename itself UFC seniors tour. Cant wait for them to sign Big Nog amd have him fight Mir in the rematch of the century.

Its sad to see them living on the UFCs scraps.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

Bellator should rename itself UFC seniors tour. Cant wait for them to sign Big Nog amd have him fight Mir in the rematch of the century.

Its sad to see them living on the UFCs scraps.

They also signed young prospect Tywin 'Speedy' Claxton.

But by all means, focus on this news...

 

[The Sound of Violence]

For anyone interested here is Frank addressing the announcement on his podcast:

 

[Jehannum]

lol I like Mir but he's just gone to Pedsville to see out his career, and Coker will protect him if he pops again too.

but hey, at least we get to see the Kongo / Mir rematch we've waited all these years for

 

[wiz]

lol I like Mir but he's just gone to Pedsville to see out his career, and Coker will protect him if he pops again too.

but hey, at least we get to see the Kongo / Mir rematch we've waited all these years for

nah I dont know about you but ive always wanted to see mir vs fedor, it's the fight everyone wanted to see in 2009/2010 besides lesnar/fedor.

 

[Jehannum]

nah I dont know about you but ive always wanted to see mir vs fedor, it's the fight everyone wanted to see in 2009/2010 besides lesnar/fedor.

Fedor can't take a punch at all though, it would just be a horrible staring match until Frank sleeps him IMO like his fight with Cro Cop except Fedor will engage much earlier. Mir's chin is not exactly awesome either but it's nowhere near as cracked as Emelianenko's.

The legendary grappling contest everyone's hoping for won't materialise, and I don't think Fedor can take a HW's GNP anymore

EDIT: I don't think Fedor can take a big MW's GNP let alone a HW's with real power

 

[Jehannum]

He'll mention his wins over Big Big and Cro Cop, and say something about Pride being dead while completely ignoring his losses to Overeem and Barnett.

They'll book him against Fedor, but I wish they'd sign Werdum, then start them on the ground.

They don't need to start them on the ground, Werdum will flop to the canvas anyway

 

[TheEmperorRises]

but hey, at least we get to see the Kongo / Mir rematch we've waited all these years for

You joke, but Kongo is the most boring fighter in Bellator. If Mir can choke him out again and send him packing, it would be a plus.

 

[wiz]

Fedor can't take a punch at all though, it would just be a horrible staring match until Frank sleeps him IMO like his fight with Cro Cop except Fedor will engage much earlier. Mir's chin is not exactly awesome either but it's nowhere near as cracked as Emelianenko's.

The legendary grappling contest everyone's hoping for won't materialise, and I don't think Fedor can take a HW's GNP anymore

EDIT: I don't think Fedor can take a big MW's GNP let alone a HW's with real power

Respect to both legends but I think both guys' chins are cracked lol...

looking at his record mir has been KOed or finished with strikes about 8 times in his career plus he was almost out against Big Nog until that legendary comeback and rocked badly against overeem. Also Mir has been worn down from a lot of injuries, he just didnt talk about them as much, like forrest griffin was saying.

Fedor on the other hand was officially finished by strikes 2 times in his career, 3 if you want to count the bigfoot fight. The maldonado fight messed him up too.

My point is, I think Mir vs Fedor is about as even as a playing field as you can get in terms of physical wear and tear and chin, both guys have taken poundings, mir has taken more if you want to be technical. That's why I like this fight

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

They also signed young prospect Tywin 'Speedy' Claxton.

But by all means, focus on this news...

Glad the title of this thread is about Claxton. No worries, he might be able to get on the undercard of Franks headlining fight. Since Frank is still on the rise in his career and all.

 

[sparkuri]

I like Frank, although he is certifiably the devil.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

Glad the title of this thread is about Claxton. No worries, he might be able to get on the undercard of Franks headlining fight. Since Frank is still on the rise in his career and all.

Mir is 38.

Mark Hunt 43
Anderson Silva 42
Lil Nog 41
Yoel Romero 40
Vitor Belfort 40
Oleksiy Oliynyk 40
Demain Maia 39
Andrei Arlovski 38
Michael Bisping 38
DC 38
Nate Marquardt 38
Dennis Siver 38
BJ Penn 38
Overeem 37
Glover 37
Rashad 37
Jacare 37

 

[HEATH VON DOOM]

Mir is 38.

Mark Hunt 43
Anderson Silva 42
Lil Nog 41
Yoel Romero 40
Vitor Belfort 40
Oleksiy Oliynyk 40
Demain Maia 39
Andrei Arlovski 38
Michael Bisping 38
DC 38
Nate Marquardt 38
Dennis Siver 38
BJ Penn 38
Overeem 37
Glover 37
Rashad 37
Jacare 37

And your point is? Mir has lost 6 of his last 8 fights. This thread is not about anyone you posted in either of your replies to me. Keep deflecting.

 

[jason73]

mir is 38? jesus christ i feel old

 

[TheEmperorRises]

And your point is? Mir has lost 6 of his last 8 fights. This thread is not about anyone you posted in either of your replies to me. Keep deflecting.

"Bellator should rename itself UFC seniors tour. Cant wait for them to sign Big Nog amd have him fight Mir in the rematch of the century.
Its sad to see them living on the UFCs scraps"

 

[Jehannum]

"Bellator should rename itself UFC seniors tour. Cant wait for them to sign Big Nog amd have him fight Mir in the rematch of the century.
Its sad to see them living on the UFCs scraps"

Mir would finish him for a 3rd time. Would be worse than Edgar vs BJ Penn III.

Did you forget the clinic Frank put on Roy Nelson? and Roy Nelson had no issues destroying Big Nig!

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

"Bellator should rename itself UFC seniors tour. Cant wait for them to sign Big Nog amd have him fight Mir in the rematch of the century.
Its sad to see them living on the UFCs scraps"

But he's not entirely wrong either... Especially when it comes to the shop worn guys like Mir, Wanderlei, etc.

And you know as well as I do that age is relative to the amount of damage someone has sustained. Mir is significantly older in fight years than Yoel despite the number beside of their names.

 

[Lukewarm Carl]

Also.. the phrase "Perception is reality" really does apply here.

I'm a fan of what Bellator is doing with creating some competition and developing some solid young talent.

But I'm afraid that they are at risk of having the casual fans write them off as being the place with some no named guys and a bunch of old guys that the UFC put out to pasture headlining.

 

[TheEmperorRises]

Also.. the phrase "Perception is reality" really does apply here.

I'm a fan of what Bellator is doing with creating some competition and developing some solid young talent.

But I'm afraid that they are at risk of having the casual fans write them off as being the place with some no named guys and a bunch of old guys that the UFC put out to pasture headlining.

It's a double edged sword. If they had Kozola vs Banks, or Piccolatti vs Yamauchi headlining an event, it won't draw huge numbers no matter how much they promote it. They need established guys like Mir to draw people in, then stock the under card with their future stars.