Mir Views Nogueira Rematch as Springboard to Contention

Frank Mir believes he is on the cusp of title contention yet again. | Photo: Dave Mandel

Mir will shoot for his third consecutive victory in the UFC 140 “Jones vs. Machida” co-main event on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, as he meets former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for a second time. The 32-year-old Las Vegan believes a win there will propel him back into contention for the UFC heavyweight crown.

“I think the advantage of the heavyweight division is it’s not that deep of a pool,” Mir said during a pre-fight teleconference for UFC 140. “That’s just the nature of the business. If I’m victorious, that’s three wins in a row. I think I’ll be right up there again.”

Mir enters the matchup on the strength of back-to-back victories over 2006 Pride open weight grand prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 winner Roy Nelson. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt knows Nogueira well. The two men coached opposite one another on Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and then fought at UFC 92 in December 2008, with Mir winning via second-round technical knockout. Afterward, it was revealed that Nogueira had been suffering from a staph infection, leading many to question the validity of the outcome.

When the rematch presented itself, Mir saw it as an opportunity to answer doubters.

“There were a lot of words or circumstances surrounding the last victory,” he said. “There could possibly be illness that Nogueira’s camp said that he had. I’ve always been keen on that, if you have an injury -- an injured hand -- and someone asked you why you didn’t box more, you just say that you had an injured hand. As far as the general statement, ‘I lost because of injury,’ I think that’s disrespect towards your opponent. The guy in front of you beat you. You didn’t perform to 100 percent [of your ability] maybe because of injury. Regardless, there are many factors that go into the outcome of a fight.”

Nogueira, whose career appeared to be on its last leg not long ago, returned from multiple surgeries and a lengthy layoff to knock out “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 finalist Brendan Schaub at UFC 134 in Brazil. Mir does not discount the meaning of the momentum now resting in the corner of his rejuvenated foe.

“After so many fights, I don’t think there should be that much of a style change. Boxing on the feet and jiu-jitsu on the ground are going to be his strong suits,” he said. “I think that one thing that is probably helping him right now is, after such a devastating win down in Brazil, I think confidence should be up higher. That’s a very dangerous thing for an opponent to have. You see it in all other sports. When people’s confidence is high, that can be the difference in doing something well or not.”

Mir welcomes the opportunity to compete in Canada, which has long been a hotbed for MMA fandom.

“I’ve been up there several times for appearances. I was there for the last big card. It’s amazing,” he said. “I think we’re recognized and we’re popular here in the states, and it magnifies dramatically the minute we cross the border.”