Confidence Amid Confusion:
A UFC Champion Is Crowned
By Loretta Hunt

Frank Mir armbarring Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 "I knew I broke his arm," UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir confidently beams from his Las Vegas home. "I knew. That's why when they stopped the fight and I got up, I raised my hand. I was like, this is over with. People were trying to tell me in the locker room that it was popped, and I kept saying yeah, okay. Sure enough the doctor came back and said, 'Nah, it's broken.'"

Ironically, Mir was one of a small minority last Saturday night who realized that something big had occurred just fifty seconds into his title bout with former champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 48. Referee Herb Dean was the first to catch the uncomfortable snap of Sylvia's forearm under the pressure of Mir's hold, as he rushed in mid-fight to separate the two entangled athletes. Commentator Joe Rogan was the next to identify it on the multiple replays that followed. Unfortunately for Mir, it took the estimated 10,000 in attendance far more convincing that this fight needed halting before Sylvia was subjected to further, even permanent, damage. Despite ringside physician Margaret Goodman's simple nod towards Dean affirming his fears, the audience still hissed the abrupt stoppage, further fueled by Sylvia's protests that he was fine and could continue.

"That kinda sucked with the confusion in the fight as far as the crowd not understanding what was going on," Mir comments of those awkward few moments. Granted, with the belt now secured around his waist following a two-and-a-half year climb up the ranks of the UFC promotion, the negative cries from an unsatisfied audience was probably not how Mir's victorious moment had played out in his mind. But true to his easygoing nature, the 25-year old Las Vegas native has chosen to focus on the positives of his career-topping performance. "As far as how the victory happened, I'm very happy with it. I went out there and did pretty much what I said I was going to do. I was gonna go out there and every time he threw a punch I was going to kick his leg."

Frank Mir's wife and daughter: Jennifer and Isabella
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Mir's wife & daughter:
Jennifer & Isabella
A 2 to 1 underdog against the 18-0, 6'8" striker, Mir was just as startled as the crowd when Sylvia chose to move the action to the ground after seizing the fighter's leg and pushing him off-balance. According to Sylvia, he wanted to violently slam Mir down and rise again quickly, but instead, the Miletich fighter lingered in his opponent's guard, much to Mir's amazement. "The fact that his next option was to go ahead and try and pull me to the cage as if he was going to ground and pound me or something, and stay inside my guard, which at this point in my game, I don't think anyone in the heavyweight division wants to be in my guard. I train pretty much now that everyone wants to stand up and get out of my guard and for him to go ahead and stay there a few extra seconds allowed me to go ahead and pull my hips out and armbar him. Actually, that was surprising to me."

Whether it be a flaw in Sylvia's strategy or a simple mistake, Mir's ground prowess can not be denied. In fact, the Ricardo Pires student has now amassed four swift submission victories in his seven UFC appearances and not one has gone past a minute and five seconds. The 6'1" fighter clocked in fifty seconds flat for this latest flashy feat, sparking longtime coach Pires to promote his top scholar right then and there to black belt status. "It was just us in the back, just between us. He threw it at me to be honest with you," Mir laughs lightly. "After he lectured me about how much harder we're gonna have to train for the next fight for the next ten minutes, he then says, 'Oh, by the way, here's your black belt.'"

Although it's a time of celebration in the Mir household, Pires' words of wisdom aren't far behind in the new champion's mind. "Oh yeah, I'll be fighting Andrei [Arlovski] in October," Mir declares, referring to the tough Belarusian who, like himself, had to wait a bit longer than first anticipated for his title shot against the former champion. But, now instead of facing Sylvia for the belt, Arlovski might have Mir to contend with. Again, Mir is confident. "I think Andrei has pretty much the same kind of mindset that Tim has," he rationalizes. "He wants to try and knock you out with hands. I like that match-up. I like when guys come in and try to box 'cause to me, it'd be the equivalent of putting a really good boxer against a really good kickboxer. Kicks beat punches every time, so I feel comfortable again that if Andrei wants to throw hands, I'll keep kicking him in the legs and taking shots, and eventually within that time, we're gonna hit the ground. I know that Andrei is a little more versed on the ground than Sylvia and I'm sure he feels pretty confident about his ground game. He started off as a grappler, but I feel that I'm a lot better and that once we hit the ground, he'll be fighting off submissions."
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