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Frank Mir is one of the greatest and most decorated champions in UFC history. A former UFC Heavyweight and Interim Champion, Mir has been involved in some of the most memorable moments in company history. This list looks at his five finest victories inside the Octagon.
#5 Tim Sylvia (UFC 48, June 19, 2004)
Frank Mir's crowning achievement of his UFC career came way back in 2004 when he entered the Octagon as a challenger for the vacated UFC Heavyweight Championship against former champion, Tim Sylvia and won the belt in just 50 seconds.
The outcome came when Mir trapped Sylvia's arm and caused it to bend and consequently break. It was a subtle break which was only obvious to the crowd when it was replayed ad nauseum on the big screen. The result originally caused a huge chorus of boos after referee, Herb Dean appeared to stop the bout prematurely. However, this gave way to a united chorus of oohs and aahs that filled Las Vegas's Mandalay Bay Events Center once the finish was broadcast again.
With that, Mir was the brand new UFC Heavyweight Champion and sat atop the Heavyweight division.
#4 Brock Lesnar (UFC 81, February 2, 2008)
Back in 2008, Frank Mir was chosen to be former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar's first UFC opponent. Lesnar had signed with the UFC after convincingly winning his debut MMA match in the K1 Hero's promotion versus Min-Soo Kim the previous year.
As a former pro-wrestler for WWE and New Japan, Lesnar was despised by the MMA crowd. However, Lesnar was a former Amateur National Wrestling Champion and had all the credentials to become a huge MMA superstar and was expected to defeat Mir, who had lost two of his previous four matches.
Lesnar started the bout like a man possessed, immediately taking the smaller Mir down and mercilessly pounding him.
However, Mir capitalized on a mistake by the inexperienced Lesnar when the Minnesota native left his leg open for a moment. Mir immediately jumped at the opportunity and skilfully locked in a knee-bar. It was game over. Mir had submitted Lesnar in just 90 seconds. Mir earned the "submission of the night" award and the outcome of this match set up a tantalizing second bout between the pair at UFC 100, with the UFC Heavyweight Championship at stake.
#3 Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs Mir, February 22, 2015)
After four consecutive losses, Mir had one last chance to redeem himself and rescue his UFC career against perennial Heavyweight contender, Antonio Silva.
In one of Mir's most impressive victories ever, he dominated the imposing Silva right from the opening bell. Mir, far more agile than his opponent, absorbed a few leg kicks from Silva before landing an enormous left hook which put the giant down. Mir quickly pounced on his fallen foe with wicked punches and elbows to end the bout via knockout in under two minutes.
With this win, Mir earned himself another main event match later that year against Todd Duffee where he would earn another memorable victory.
#2 Todd Duffee (UFC Fight Night: Mir vs Duffee, July 15, 2015)
Frank Mir followed up his hugely impressive victory over Antonio Silva by claiming "Performance of the Night" honours in his second consecutive fight.
Mir was an underdog against the much younger Duffee, who, according to popular belief, had far superior punching power. Duffee holds the record for the quickest knockout in UFC history, a mere seven seconds. However, it would be Mir whose punching power decided the outcome of the contest.
After trading punches, Mir caught former hot prospect Duffee with a wicked left hand which caused Duffee to drop to the mat like a stone. Mir won by knockout in just 73 seconds. After an indifferent few years in the Octagon, Mir was back with a vengeance. Duffee never fought again.
#1 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (UFC 140, December 10, 2011)
In a sequel to their fight at UFC 92, which Frank Mir also won, Mir repeated the feat against the legendary Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140.
The victory was significant, not only because it put Mir back into Heavyweight title contention for the first time in two years, but also because he earned the distinction of becoming the first man to knock out Nogueira (at UFC 92) and with his UFC 140 win, the first man to submit "Big Nog" as well.
Mir began the fight on the back foot, rocked by a punch from Nogueira and a submission attempt. After some back and forth grappling, Mir managed to lock in a kimura lock. Nogueira furiously tried to escape and refused to submit. In scenes reminiscent of UFC 48, Mir then broke Nogueira's arm causing the Brazilian to finally tap out.
It was an incredible victory and one that earned Mir "submission of the night" honours. Mir was on top of the world and would soon be named the number one contender for Junior Dos Santos's UFC Heavyweight Championship.
