Mir talks his way into Nogueira rematch

Frank Mir is an insightful, thoughtful guy who also happens to be one of the world's elite mixed martial arts fighters. In a decorated career that includes two stints as the UFC heavyweight champion, Mir has collected wins over an impressive list of opponents including the likes of Brock Lesnar, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Cheick Kongo and, his opponent on Saturday at UFC 140, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Mir, though, doesn't command the respect among the UFC's growing fan base that someone with his record and achievements ought to have.

That's fine with the 32-year-old Mir, a 10-year UFC veteran who believes he's just reaching his peak and has many more big victories ahead of him. Mir credits his side job – serving as a television MMA analyst – with helping him to make subtle but nonetheless significant improvements.

Analyzing fights, Mir said, has given him a better focus on why things work and why others don't. And, he insisted, he's been able to use his analytic ability to his advantage in the cage in a win over Filipovic.

"Going into the third round, I was really kind of stumped a little bit," said Mir, who said he's had talks with the FOX networks about doing work on UFC broadcasts next year. "I was like, 'Man, I can't ever really get this guy.' We were out in the open and I'd throw punches and he'd back up, and I couldn't catch him. Then we'd back to the cage and when I'd lock up with him, I was making a mistake with the under-hooks and I couldn't get a solid takedown. So there was no point I could get him.

"That's why in the second round, I kind of started shutting down. Every time I came forward, he was so good at sliding out that I was having a difficult time tagging him with anything solid."

Mir was frustrated, and he knew the fans weren't happy. He wasn't happy. But it was at that point that Mir the fighter turned to Mir the analyst for some help.

It dawned on him that he should quit chasing Filipovic.

"So in the third round, it dawned on me that, 'Ah, I'll bring him to me,' " Mir said. "You've seen it, I'm sure, in fights where, if one guy backs up, the other guy naturally follows. You'll never see in a fight where one guy backs up and the other guy just stands there. If I'm chasing you down and you run, it makes sense that if I back up, you'll come to me. You'll see in that fight that I started walking backwards and I tried to lure him in.

"I backed up and started jumping up and down, hopping, looking like I was catching my breath. I made him feel confident coming forward so that I could then burst forward and try to catch him. I didn't specifically plan on hitting him with a knee, but I planned on hitting him with something coming in, and that's what worked."

Mir likened his television work to a football coach breaking down film. He said he is able to notice tendencies and to understand how fighters set moves up. He called it an "immense help" in his fight preparation.

He meets Nogueira in Saturday's co-main event at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto in a rematch from a fight that generated plenty of buzz a few years ago. Mir thrashed Nogueira at UFC 92 on Dec. 27, 2008, in Las Vegas to win the UFC interim title in what is one of the best performances of his career.

After the fight, however, Nogueira used a litany of excuses for the loss that not only took away from Mir's win, but aggravated him to a degree.

Mir is clearly motivated and a motivated Mir is always dangerous. UFC president Dana White hasn't been happy with Mir's performances the last few times out. Still, White knows that Mir is one of the elite heavyweights because of his athleticism and all-around game.

"Mir is one of those guys, he'll look like a world-beater in one fight and then in the next one, not so great," White said. "But he's a tough guy and he's a lot younger than Nogueira.

I've been on Nog and we've had our battles. [Nogueira has] had the injuries and this and that, but he's coming off that huge win over Brendan Schaub [at UFC 134 in Brazil] and it seems like it got him revitalized. Mir is going to need one of his 'on' nights if that Nogueira shows up."

Mir said he's motivated to prove his first win over Nogueira was not a fluke. He's also eager to prove that, after a decade of battling the world's toughest men, he's still got a lot of fight left in him.

The best is yet to come, Mir said, and, barring injury, he feels he can go on at a high level for several more years. He's a father and said it hurts now to miss things such as his daughter's school recital, but physically, he believes he's better than he's ever been.

Knowing that the winner of the Brock Lesnar-Alistair Overeem fight at UFC 141 is going to get the next shot at UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos – Mir believes Lesnar will win – he'd like another crack at the last man to beat him, Shane Carwin.

Mir said he has nothing but respect for Carwin and his desire for a fight is only as a gauge to measure himself.

"My wrestling has come a long way since [UFC 111 in 2010] and I'd like another shot at him," Mir said. "He beat me that night and I'd never make excuses. But the me that showed up that night, he'd beat 10 times out of 10. But I've worked really hard and that's what this game is about, showing your improvement and making weaknesses your strengths.

I say this with absolutely no animosity at all, but I'd like another shot at him if I win this fight so I can prove how far I've come."

If Mir gets those wins, don't be shocked if he gives his side job a lot of credit for getting him there.

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