Frank Mir will return to action for the first time in two years on Saturday night when he makes his promotional debut at Bellator 198 against another heavyweight legend, Fedor Emelianenko.
When he gets that under his belt, the 38-year-old Mir will have fought just about everyone of any note in the heavyweight ranks throughout the course of his long career, but he still has other aspirations left in the sport, and at the top appears to be a trilogy showdown with his greatest rival – Brock Lesnar.
“Absolutely,” Mir told MMAWeekly when asked if there was still a possibility a third fight with Lesnar could take place in the future. “I would like to make sure it occurs. Just be patient. I mean who would have thought I would eventually be able to face Fedor?”
Mir first faced Lesnar in the WWE superstar’s promotional debut at UFC 81 in 2008, tapping him out with a kneebar in just 90 seconds.
However, over a year later the two clashed again in the main event of UFC 100 and this time it was Lesnar who emerged as the winner, TKO’ing Mir in the second round, before yelling in the face of the still-dazed veteran and mocking him, ensuring that the bad blood between them was far from over.
That being said, Mir now has a multi-fight deal with Bellator and if Lesnar ever fought again it would likely be in the UFC given that Dana White claims he still has a contract with the star, so it seems unlikely at this stage that they will cross paths again.
Nevertheless, Mir is convinced it will happen.
“Brock likes money and I don’t think there’s anybody he could get more pay-per-view buys on than facing me,” Mir said of another chance to settle their differences once and for all. “I feel that fight will still work itself out because of what the financial ramifications are, it just makes sense.”
