Frank Mir is an American heavyweight performing in a mixed style. Among wrestling fans, he is associated with the most spectacular fights, in which there is always a place for cruel painful tricks. For this, he is called the king of receptions.
Biography: early years
Frank Mir was born May 24, 1979 in Las Vegas, in the US state of Nevada. His real name is Francisco Santos World III. His father ran a local mixed martial arts center. He "infected" his son with love for martial arts. It was in the center of his father that the World began to comprehend the basics of martial arts. He began with sambo and judo.
At the same time, the World played football for the school team and competed in athletics. His school record in discus throw is still not beaten by anyone.
Frank first entered the ring in the penultimate course of the university. His debut is hardly successful. The first nine fights were lost with a bang. It did not break the world. He continued training in enhanced mode. And the result was not long in coming. In 1998, the World won the adult state championship.
In 1999, on the instructions of his father, Mir took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. At first he did not see the need for this. But later, Frank will understand that his father was right when he made him learn this particular martial art, which is characterized by fighting in the stalls, asphyxiating and painful techniques. It is the latter that will become Frank's crown chip.
Career
In 2001, Joe Silva, one of the UFC managers, where all the fighters dreamed of getting, noticed Mira. In an interview, he admitted that then he was struck by "horsepower and extraordinary technique" by Frank. He invited him to prove himself in a professional ring. In the same year, he made his debut in the battles HOOKnSHOOT: Showdown. His opponent was Jerome Smith. The world came out victorious after two rounds.
The second time he entered the professional ring as part of the Warriors Challenge 15 tournament. Dan Quinn became his opponent. Frank won again. He soon fought against Robert Traven. By that time, he was a two-time world champion and holder of a black belt in ju-jitsu. Frank managed to hold a painful reception in a minute to “neutralize” the opponent. By the way, his reception was recognized as the best that evening.
The next fight World held against the previously unbeaten Pete Williams. Frank took even less time to deal with him - only 46 seconds. And he won again thanks to his crown pain technique, which soon became known as Mir Lock.
Five months later, Mir entered the ring against Ian Freeman from Britain, who then had 12 victories and 5 defeats. He did not allow Frank to make a painful reception in the stalls. The world ended up at the bottom and for a couple of minutes missed blows to the head. The judge ordered the fighters to rise, but the weakened World could not continue the fight. This was his debut defeat at the UFC.
Six months later, Frank rehabilitated in a fight against Tank Abbott. He finished it with a tough painful trick. It is noteworthy that this happened again at the 46th second, as in the duel with Pete Williams.
His next opponent was Wes Sims. With him, the World spent two fights with a difference of six months. These were very vivid fights. The first lasted about three minutes, and the second - two grueling rounds. Frank was the winner in these battles.
Despite the brilliant victories, the dream of the World was to get a black belt in jujitsu. And in the summer of 2004 he did it. His opponent in the final meeting was Tim Sylvia, who at that time was considered a strong fighter and was three years older than Frank. At the 50th second of the meeting, Frank held a tough arm pain against him, as a result of which she literally broke. The judge noticed this and stopped the fight. Tim did not agree with this decision, he was ready to continue the fight with a broken arm. However, doctors after the examination insisted that the fight was over. The judge awarded the victory to the World. It soon became clear that Tim’s arm was broken in four places.
In the fall of the same year, the World had an accident on a motorcycle. He lost control and crashed into an oncoming car. Frank was diagnosed with a femoral neck fracture and knee ligament rupture. He was recovering for about two years.
He returned to the ring in February 2006. However, injuries made themselves felt, and his fights were no longer as bright as before. He spent several fights, which he mostly lost. This led to the disappointment of fans.
It took him another year to get himself in shape. He conducts a series of fights that lead him to confrontation for the title of absolute champion in heavyweight. It was a meeting with Brock Lesnar. Then the World failed to become an absolute champion.
In subsequent years, Frank held a large number of fights with famous fighters, including:
- Shane Carvin;
- Mirko CroCop;
- Check Congo;
- Antonio Rodrigo;
- Alistair Overeem.
In 2014, the popular BlodyElbow website held a tournament between the best grapplers in MMA, with the winners determined by the fans. Frank reached the finals, but lost to Kazushi Sakurabe.
In December 2018, the World held an extreme battle. He met with the famous Brazilian Javi Ayala. The world then lost. The judge recorded a technical knockout.
