Mir Concerned with Lesnar’s Well-Being

LAS VEGAS -- Frank Mir watched, along with the rest of the mixed martial arts community, as a career-threatening intestinal illness put the future of current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in jeopardy.

Despite their volatile history with one another, Mir seems genuinely concerned for the hulking Minnesotan’s well-being.

“He’s a pretty tough guy,” Mir said. “If anybody can get through it, it has to be him. I want him to be able to be there for his kids. Do I still want to go in there and rip his arm off? Absolutely.”

With Lesnar on the sidelines indefinitely, talk has inevitably turned to the creation of potential interim title fights. Mir, who was interim champion between December 2008 and July 2009, thinks the UFC would do well to steer clear of such scenarios.

“I hate interim titles,” Mir said. “I think it’s stupid. It’s retarded. It’s confusing to fans. Let [Lesnar] keep the belt [until he can fight again], or go ahead and put it away. Either he can defend it, or he can’t. If he can’t defend it in a year, strip him of the title. I’ve lived on both sides of it. If we can avoid it, let’s avoid it.”

Five months removed from his one-sided loss to Lesnar, Mir will collide with Cheick Kongo in the co-main event at UFC 107 “Penn vs. Sanchez” on Dec. 12 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. Mir respects Kongo as a well-rounded mixed martial artist but remains less than complimentary of his oft-criticized ground game and thinks the Frenchman’s considerable stand-up abilities have hindered his overall development.

“When you’re good at something, it’s hard to humble yourself and do other things,” Mir said. “It hurts a lot of fighters out there. I think a lot of times Kongo might fall into that.”

Even with his perceived lack of ground skills, Kongo has never been submitted as a professional. The chiseled, 6-foot-4 kickboxer has won three of his last four fights, two of them by first-round technical knockout. Upright, there may be no greater threat in the division.

“He just basically scrambles back to his feet,” Mir said. “He is very good within your guard, but that’s been against guys who were not trying to rip his arm off.”

Mir believes the division he once ruled has never been stronger, Lesnar’s health woes notwithstanding. Buoyed by the arrival of Shane Carwin, the development of the unbeaten Cain Velasquez and a return to form by Mir himself, few look upon the heavyweights as the UFC’s weakest links. According to Mir, the weight class also benefited from Zuffa’s 2007 purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, which brought Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira into the fold.

“I think it’s the best it’s ever been,” Mir said. “Before you were interested in one or two heavyweights and when they were fighting. Consolidating Pride helped us immensely.”

Still, Mir sees limits to the strength and depth of the division.

“Will it ever be as stacked as 170 and 155? Absolutely not,” Mir said. “If you’re over 200 pounds and you’re a good athlete, you’re not going to become a fighter. Human beings are only so big.”