Frank Mir hopes to return to action sooner rather than later following his 48 second knockout loss to Fedor Emelianenko this past weekend.
Mir suffered the setback to Emelianenko after more than two years away from the sport due to a suspension handed down from USADA after he tested positive for a banned substance while under contract with the UFC.
The UFC eventually granted Mir’s release from the promotion but he still had to serve out that sentence before he could book his next fight.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go Mir’s way and he fell to Emelianenko, which was ultimately his third loss in a row overall.
“It kind of hurt my ego,” Mir said about the loss when speaking on his “Phonebooth Fighting” podcast.
“It’s been two years since I’ve competed seriously and my composure is not what it should have been. Once I got into a fire-fight I just got emotional instead of staying strategic.”
The loss didn’t deter Mir from wanting to fight again in the near future but from the sound of things Bellator doesn’t plan on putting him back into action until the fall.
That’s why Mir is hoping to book a fight in Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB), a Russian based mixed martial arts promotion where he also calls fights as the resident color commentator.
“Bellator first came to me and they’re talking about October and I said OK that’s cool, I would like to get a fight in the ACB before that just so I can get more time clocked under me,” Mir explained. “So I can get my timing back for fighting.
“You can train as much as you want but there’s nothing like the real thing so I’ve only had 40 seconds for the last two years. So I need some more time, some more allowance.”
According to Mir, his deal with Bellator allows him to take fights in ACB so long as the promotion gives him permission and it doesn’t interfere with one of their shows.
With Mir out of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, he doesn’t anticipate fighting in ACB to cause any problems, which will then allow him to compete in the near future as opposed to waiting until October.
“As long as Bellator gives their blessing. Obviously they have it in the clause where they can say no but pretty much I was given verbal assurances that would never be the case unless it were to interfere with their show,” Mir said.
“I guess the silver lining to a dark cloud is that I wasn’t successful on Saturday, I’ll get more fights this year.”
Who would you like to see Frank Mir face when he returns to action later this year?
