Frank Mir has been around the UFC for quite some time. Making his debut fourteen years ago at UFC 34, Mir is one of the company’s longest serving members of the roster. Yet today it appeared that the partnership may be coming to an end after Mir requested a release from his contract.
It’s not been an easy couple of months for UFC heavyweight Frank Mir. After being knocked unconscious in his last fight against Mark Hunt on April 7, Mir failed a drugs test (administered by UFC drug testing partners USADA) for oral turinabol metabolites.
With a mandatory punishment of a two year suspension to be served, during which time Mir cannot participate in fighting or analytical work for the company, Mir has been forced to start looking into the opportunity of leaving the UFC and finding work elsewhere. Speaking on MMAFighting’s The MMA Hour, Mir spoke at length about his plans for the future.
“As of now I’m under suspension, as of April 2018 I’ll be eligible to fight again the UFC,” Mir said. “And even more, as troubling as that is, they have it to where I can’t do any broadcasting, not that I was ever going to get it in there, just because I’ve been asking for several years since the WEC since put this in the rotation, right now I’d like to be released by the UFC so I can continue my career in other avenues.”
Despite maintaining he is innocent, Mir decided against appealing the decision, after deciding that it would come at great financial cost with no guaranteed alteration of the outcome.
“I didn’t see any advantage or course of action that would have been conclusive or really had any percentages on my side where I could win,” Mir said. It’s starting to look very expensive to fight, and if at the end of it I’m still suspended and I’m not allowed to fight or broadcast, I have to start to think about my savings as I’m trying to raise children, I made a decision to forego trying to battle it anymore.”
It’s because of those finances that Mir has simply ruled out waiting the two years. With four children, it’s simply an unviable option to be out of work for so long and continue to maintain the lives he wishes his children to have.
“After I realized three weeks ago the situation in its entirety, and looked at my savings account and what my kids cost to raise, I realized I have to go make a living,” Mir said. “Being tied up not able to fight and not able to do any analytical works…I know [the UFC are] very busy, there’s a lot on their plate, so I’m trying as patiently as a person can be find time to get in front of them and discuss the issue.”
Should this indeed be the end of his UFC career, Mir walks out with an impressive résumé. He holds records for most heavyweight wins with 16, the most finishes in the heavyweight division with 13, the most heavyweight submissions with eight and most first-round finishes in any weight class with ten. He is a former UFC heavyweight champion, as well as a former interim heavyweight champion.
Mir also had one of the sports most interesting comebacks, after a devastating motorcycle accident seemed to have put his best days behind him, until Mir managed to eventually fight back into title contention.
Despite all those achievements, Mir made note of how unhappy he is to leave the company as he is.
“It will absolutely bother me,” Mir said. “I don’t want to lie and be like ‘oh, I’ll get past this.’ It will be one of those things that I’ll be very sad about how this is how I spent 15 years of my life in the UFC, and this is how it ended. It’s not a happy note to end on. It will be one of those things that I’ll chalk up as a regret until the day they put me in the ground. I just have to move on and try to continue with other aspects of my life.”
