Frank Mir sees clear path to tourney title if he gets past Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 198

Frank Mir is not looking past Fedor Emelianenko, but if he can beat the former PRIDE champion in the opening round of the Bellator World Heavyweight Grand Prix on Saturday at Bellator 198, he sees himself as the frontrunner to win it all.

When assessing the remaining tourney field, Mir (18-11 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) said he likes his chances. Emelianenko (36-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) has a fairly complete fighting game.

Beyond that, though, three wrestling-based fighters remain in Chael Sonnen (30-15-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), Ryan Bader (24-5 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) and Muhammad Lawal (21-6 MMA, 10-4 BMMA), as well as one prominent striker in Matt Mitrione (13-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA). When looking at the matchups, the former UFC heavyweight champ thinks he has a clear edge over everyone in at least one key category.

“I do (think I’m the favorite), especially as a heavyweight,” Mir told MMAjunkie. “The guys coming up from light heavyweight don’t have the power to stop these Brazilian jiu-jitsu moves I have. Other heavyweights haven’t been able to stop that, so a light heavyweight is going to have a much more difficult time.

“Then on my feet I feel very good. I have more first-round finishes in the UFC in the heavyweight division than anyone. So my power, whether it’s knocking people out or submitting people, is huge.”

Bellator 198 takes place at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., near Chicago. Mir vs. Emelianenko, which is one of four opening-round matchups in the yearlong eight-man tourney, headlines the main card on Paramount following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Although Mir is confident about what could be on the horizon, he said he’s not getting overly eager about the situation. He knows he must get past Emelianenko first. In his mind, that’s no easy task, especially when coming back from a more than two-year layoff, which is the longest of his nearly 17-year career. Mir, who signed with Bellator in 2017, said there’s upside and downside to the long break, but overall he thinks it’s going to play to his benefit.

“It’s a mixed bag,” Mir said. “Obviously the time off has allowed me to heal up and recuperate and rejuvenate myself as far as getting back enthusiasm for being in the fight world. But the drawback is getting back timing and ring rust. They’re all factors I have to deal with. Hopefully I can get past it fast. I can’t pretend it doesn’t exist because that would be foolish. The nerves of finally competing I’m sure will be there, and I’ve just got to make the most of the situation.”

For Mir, the layoff was not exactly self-imposed. He failed a drug test around the time of his March 2016 bout with Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 85, and despite claiming innocence, he was handed a two-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). At first Mir said he was consumed by finding the source of the banned substance that unknowingly entered his system, but as time went on, he learned to accept his reality and just move forward.

UFC officials ultimately granted Mir’s request for a release. Although it meant leaving the company he’d fought for 27 times since 2001, he said it turned out for the better.

“Many opportunities fell on my lap because of it,” Mir said. “That’s why in life when adversity comes you’ve got to keep going. You never know. I’ve started my own podcast with ‘Phone Booth Fighting,’ I’ve started doing commentary for ACB, and now I’ve landed in a tournament now with Bellator where everyone is looking to win and leave their mark. There have been UFC heavyweight champs, but there’s not anybody who can say they’ve had the UFC heavyweight belt and also the Bellator heavyweight belt. Now there are opportunities to push my legend even further.”

The end goal is to claim the vacant Bellator heavyweight belt by getting through the tournament field, but Mir knows fighting Emelianenko does something for his legacy all on its own. A matchup between the two legends has long been fantasy. In the mid-2000s, Mir was a UFC champion while Emelianenko was going on an unprecedented run under the now-defunct PRIDE banner. There was constant speculation about how a crossover fight would go, and now it’s happening at Bellator 198.

The fight might be materializing when Mir, 38, and Emelianenko, 41, are somewhat beyond their respective fighting primes, but Mir said the Russian is still a dangerous foe.

“I think his chin is definitely not in its prime,” Mir said. “He doesn’t want to play around and take shots like he used to. He realizes, ‘I need to hit you before you hit me.’ His explosiveness and his killer instinct are still extremely high. Both of us are too dangerous to play around with each other. I think we’re both going to look to get in there, we’ll probably eye each other up for a few seconds, but as soon as one of us seems and opportunity, we’re going to seize it. I don’t see this going 15 minutes. Both of us are capable of finishing the other, and I’m hoping I get the opportunity for it to be me.”

For Mir, the challenges at Bellator 198 don’t rest solely with Emelianenko. It’s also the environment he finds himself in. It’s been more than 16 years since Mir put on gloves or walked into a cage that didn’t have UFC branding. It won’t be Bruce Buffer calling his name, nor will there be the countless faces he’s come to know ahead of fight.

“I just try not to focus on the differences and instead focus on the similarities,” Mir said “I’ve been training with the Bellator gloves and doing things in terms of preparation. I realize the cage is more circular and not flat paneled. There’s certain factors I’ve taken into consideration, but at the end of the day, it’s still fight. You slip a punch, I land more than he lands, and I get in the better positions for opportunities.”

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