Frank Mir remembers the first time he met retired Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) matchmaker Joe Silva.
Mir, who ended up being a UFC heavyweight champion, didn’t know he could get paid competing in mixed martial arts (MMA). He simply trained because he was passionate about doing so.
Nov. 2, 2001 was the date Mir made his UFC debut. It wouldn’t have happened as quickly as it did, if at all, had it not been for Silva walking into the gym Mir had been training at. Mir recalled meeting Silva for the first time to MMA Junkie Radio:
“There was no idea I was going to get paid to do that; I just loved to train. So, there was one day, I was in the gym at Modern Martial Arts, and this short, unassuming individual on a 10-speed bike showed up. Said he’d just gotten a place nearby there because the offices he works at, Zuffa, were right there. So like, ‘What do you do?’ Oh, ‘I’m vice president or matchmaker for the UFC.’ Like, really? He just showed up on a 10-speed! ‘You’re a matchmaker, huh buddy?’ It’s just not what you would think.
“And then he was watching me train and roll around and noticed how well I moved for a heavyweight. And had mentioned, ‘Hey, have you thought about fighting professionally?’ And I already had. I went like, ‘I like fighting. I want to do it. I just never aspired –’ ”Well, we have your number.’”
