Mir Continues To Rebuild MMA Reputation At UFC 111; Takes On Carwin

Newark, NJ, United States (AHN) – Everything changed for Frank Mir the night of September 17, 2004.

A UFC heavyweight champion at the pinnacle of his young mixed martial arts career was riding his motorcycle when it was struck by a car, careening Mir over the front handlebars.

The accident broke Mir’s femur and tore all the ligaments in a right knee known for turning the faces of a few UFC fighters into putty on contact.

Two years later, Mir returned to the Octagon, but in a pair of lackluster fights against Mauricio Cruz (UFC 57) and Dan Christenson (UFC 61) critics began to question if the Las Vegas native would ever be what he once was.

Admittedly, Mir had those same questions at one point as well.

“I am very goal oriented, but I had step back and look at my life at the point and say am I ever going to be able to do this?” said Mir, 30. “All I have ever wanted was to be the UFC world heavyweight champion. To me that title means you are the most complete, most well rounded martial artist in the world.”

Through grit and sheer determination, Mir (13-4 MMA record, 11-4 UFC) has regained the form he had prior to that fateful night and both his critics and opponents are taking notice.

Mir is 5-3 since his return to the UFC in 2006, with wins over notables in current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (submission, UFC 81), Antonio “Minatauro” Nogueira (TKO, UFC 92) and his latest a submission win over heavyweight giant Cheick Kongo at UFC 107 in December.

His opponent in the upcoming UFC 111 co-main event in Newark, N.J. on March 27, Shane Carwin has taken notice and is excited for the possibilities of getting a Frank Mir once revered as the world’s best heavyweight fighter.

The fight is for the interim heavyweight crown, as current UFC titleholder Brock Lesnar is still recovering from blood infections.

Carwin (11-0, 3-0 UFC) himself, has quickly become a force in the heavyweight division, winning all four of his matches in the UFC by knockout, technical knockout (2) or submission.

He is the best experiment for a Mir looking to once again have his face in the sun as a UFC titleholder.

“Frank is on the top of his game right now, honestly I think this is the best Frank we have ever seen,” said Carwin, 35. “That excites me; to be able to fight him at this point in his career. But I plan to stand up with him and throw punches and he should know that everyone of those punches is coming with bad intentions.”

Mir said he has a great deal of respect for his foe, as well.

“I’m impressed, I wanna fight that guy,” said Mir, who explained his reasoning after sitting cage side at Carwin’s dominating exhibition against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96.

Carwin defeated the favored Gonzaga by knockout in just over a minute of round one.

“That guy is a monster?there is risk for both of us in this fight. There is no way I can sit here and say I have a straight cut advantage or he does?it’s going to come down to see who planned their game plan the best.”

While Mir may be “impressed” with all Carwin has done so far, the itch to test his mettle against him serves as vestige to the rebuild Mir had to undergo – given it was always so much easier to throw in the towel.

But for anyone who knows Frank Mir, the latter was never an afterthought.

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