The new Frank Mir interview at MMA Weekly is getting a lot of attention this morning:
“I’m a martial artist; he’s a professional fighter,” said Mir. “He fights because he gets paid to fight. If the UFC were to go bankrupt tomorrow, a month later I would still be in some small organization fighting. Not because I need to; my house is paid off, my cars are paid; I don’t need the money as far as desperately.
“I fight because I enjoy fighting. I enjoy the preparation and the training and the mindset, everything that goes behind it. I don’t know if we can say the same about Lesnar. If Lesnar was making $10,000, would he show up to fight?”
Until his last fight, the idea that Mir “enjoys the preparation and training” of fighting would have been a punch line. He used to spend most of his time bouncing at a local Las Vegas club instead of training full-time, an inconvenient fact given the narrative he wants to put out now. I don’t begrudge him at all for making the extra money he needed, but he routinely came into fights in terrible shape because he didn’t do the right things.
It’s also a bit hollow to criticize Brock for fighting for money. The man left a lot on the table by leaving professional wrestling, and he lives out in the woods in a cabin with no internet. The idea that he is just in it for the money is ridiculous, I’d like to see a comparison of Mir’s lifestyle to Lesnar’s to see who’s really more interested in money.
Mir also continues to point out the fact that Brock got a title shot when he was 1-1, without acknowledging that he got his title shot by beating a guy that was 0-0 in the UFC. Mir’s entire comeback started when he beat Lesnar in his UFC debut. Mir got all the star rub from the victory, and now begrudges Lesnar for getting an unearned title shot. Neither Mir nor Lesnar “deserved” their title shot, but both of them won the title, so it doesn’t really matter at this point.
I imagine the s— talking is going to reach epic proportions before this fight. Both guys are great at getting under the skin of their opponents, it should be fun to watch.