Mir (photo) won another one against Duffee. Photo: Reproduction
About a year ago, Frank mir seemed destined for retirement. The former UFC champion was going through a terrible time within the organization, with four consecutive defeats and apathetic performances inside the Octagon. However, today his situation is different: showing agility and with heavy hands, Mir obtained his second consecutive victory against Todd Duffee, in the main fight of UFC Fight Night 71.
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The North American, who at the beginning of the year hit Antonio Pezão, believes he is reinventing himself as a fighter at 36 years of age. Despite his successful CV, Mir insisted that he has not let success relax him and that he is an athlete in full development.
“Heavyweights mature later in life, so that’s why we don’t see as many young guys coming into the division. After the fight with [Alistair] Overeem, I thought 'why am I going to put my family through this?' But my wife told me to take some time off, so I feel rejuvenated. After 14 years [as a professional fighter], I try to keep improving. A lot of people in my situation sit, look in the mirror and think about their records, but I'm not like that”, commented Mir, in a press conference held shortly after the event.
After brutally knocking out Duffee this Wednesday (15), Mir considers that his training method was fundamental to the result. “I've been training with professional boxers and I've been absorbing that. I tried to be smarter, but I let emotion take over. I bit my mouth guard and tried to send a message to everyone,” he said. “He's great in attack, but I questioned his defense. Everyone who is very aggressive tends to open a lot of gaps.”
Mir, who has already beaten former PRIDE legends such as Rodrigo Minotauro and Mirko Cro Cop, accepted the idea given by a journalist to face in the future Fedor Emelianenko, who recently announced that he will return to fighting. “I have a lot of respect for him. He went through a bad time and did what I did, he stayed away for a while. He's a martial artist, so I imagine he kept going to the gym to train in sambo. Having the opportunity to face him would be a huge honor,” he added.
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