Efter att Frank Mir förlorat mot regerande mästare Junior Dos Santos var det ganska oklart vad som väntade den forne mästaren. Det var hans tredje raka förlust i en titelmatch och resan till en ny titelchans eller stormatch kändes lång.
Då kom erbjudandet om att ta en match i Strikeforce mot Grand Prix-vinnaren Daniel Cormier och Mir berättar att inte behövde fundera länge innan han accepterade att anta utmaningen.
”They came to me. I pretty much took the summer off. I was hanging out at the time with the kids and I got a phone call and was presented with an opportunity, that, you know, coming off of a loss, makes a lot of sense to me and it seems like a positive step forward.”, säger Mir till The MMA Hour.
Till skillnad från andra fajters som varit på tal om att gå över från UFC till Strikeforce ser Mir inte den tillfälliga flytten som ett steg ner.
”No, they are owned by the same, ZUFFA, one is on pay-per-view (PPV) and one is on Showtime. I don’t really see it as a step down as far as competition. Cormier is a top competitor and he has shown that in his last couple of fights. Like I said, I was coming off a loss and fighting for the title in Strikeforce, to me, it’s a way to stepping up the ranks again quickly. I was asked, and I was like, ’Sure.’ I didn’t see much of a negative.”
Mir, som över tid ägnat sig mer åt att analysera och kommentera matcher, vet att han kommer behöva vara på topp för att kunna besegra Cormier och bedömer att han har bättre stående kunskaper och submission. Men när det kommer till brottningen är det en annan femma och Mir tillstår att det kommer vara Cormier som styr var matchen utspelar sig.
”The Barnett win actually impressed me extremely. Cormier obviously has an extremely strong wrestling background. I don’t think it takes a genius to figure that out. And then his striking has been coming along. I was kind of curious to see how he would do against submissions, and there was a couple times, one that I can remember right now when there was a pretty legitimate attempt on his leg, and he didn’t panic and had the defense to get out of it. And so, I feel that he’s a very dangerous opponent. I still feel that I have to pick his game apart. I think that if we fight each other, I’d have the advantage in striking and submissions, but as far as whether the fight stays on the feet or goes down, I don’t think I’m going to have much of a choice. Wherever he wants to fight me, I’m going to have to be prepared for all areas.”
Matchen planeras till någon gång i höst och har ännu inte fått någon officiell tid eller plats.
