Former heavyweight champ Mir shocked Brazil by submitting Minotauro in Toronto.
Francisco dos Santos Mir, or Frank Mir to MMA fans, managed a feat comparable to the one that earned him the UFC heavyweight belt on June 19, 2004.
Becoming champion by beating the iron-fisted Tim Sylvia was special, of course, especially after getting his hams on (and breaking) the rangy Sylvia’s arm just 50 seconds into the first round.
These days, though, Mir (16w, 5l) was already being seen by fans as a former champion, already past his prime.
That all changed on Saturday.
X-ray of Minotauro's arm following kimura / Photo: UFC.
But there’s no remembering him as a run-of-the-mill former champion. The American, famous for his fear of flying and the motorcycle accident that nearly cut short his career, will always be remembered as the Jiu-Jitsu black belt who tapped out the greatest finisher in elite MMA history, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.
Here’s a list of the other “trophies” on Mir’s submissions mantel, all of them in the first round:
Rodrigo Minotauro – UFC 140, R1
Cheick Kongo – UFC 107, R1
Brock Lesnar – UFC 81, R1
Tim Sylvia – UFC 48, R1
Tank Abbott – UFC 41, R1
Pete Williams – UFC 36, R1
Roberto Traven – UFC 34, R1
