It sounds like Frank Mir is already planning out his post-UFC future.
Recently, Mir announced that his request to be released by the UFC has been granted. The former heavyweight champion had been with the promotion since 2001. Only two of Mir’s professional mixed martial arts bout have been outside the UFC.
Talking to Helen Yee of NBC Sports Radio, Mir said the thought of a potential fight with Fedor Emelianenko gets him excited (via MMAFighting.com):
“We had to come to terms on the situation and the end result was a mutual release. Right now I’m trying to weigh all my options. We talked about who could possibly be opponents out there, so I’m thinking, more or less, what show offers who to fight. Fedor would be an awesome fight. I think we talked about maybe even Brock. So there’s different ideas out there and really there’s just endless possibilities.”
Matt Mitrione earned a knockout win over Emelianenko last month at Bellator NYC. Mir isn’t as open to that bout as he is for “The Last Emperor.”
“It wouldn’t be my first choice, to be honest with you. I think Matt Mitrione is a super tough guy, very athletic but I think that I’d probably get more pay-per-view buys if I fought Fedor. Mitrione would probably elevate my status more, a victory over him at this point, towards moving up the rankings but I’m kinda past that part of my career. I’d rather fight named fighters and Fedor’s somebody I’ve always wanted to fight and I think that it would be nice to be able to complete that kind of who’s who of my resume.”
