(Editor’s note: Headline and information in this story have been updated to reflect Mir’s manager refuting reports of a deal being completed.)
A former UFC heavyweight champion could be headed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
On Friday, a report from Fight Bananas stated that Frank Mir has signed with the promotion. Although the news was picked up by multiple media outlets, Mir’s manager, Malki Kawa of First Round Management, indicated the reports are premature.
“He def hasnt [sic] signed yet but good work all of you for jumping the gun,” Kawa wrote.
He def hasnt signed yet but good work all of you for jumping the gun
https://t.co/D2qruVmW55
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) September 19, 2020
Kawa’s use of the word “yet” would seem to indicate a deal is in the works.
Mir, 41, spent 15 years with the UFC, making his debut with a submission win over Roberto Traven at UFC 34 and lasting all the way until 2016. Along the way, he won the heavyweight title at UFC 48 with a technical submission of Tim Sylvia then vacated after suffering injuries in a motorcycle accident.
Mir later won interim gold with a second-round TKO of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, then lost the unification match to Brock Lesnar in one of the biggest events in mixed martial arts history at UFC 100.
Mir made his Bellator debut in 2018 and fought three times for the promotion – losing to Fedor Emelianenko and Javy Ayala but most recently defeating Roy Nelson in October 2019.3
Bellator signed Mir after he left the UFC, and he finished his MMA career with a decision victory over Roy Nelson at Bellator 231 in October 2019.
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