“People don't usually have long careers as heavyweights because they mature into the role. Look at amateur wrestling, you don't usually see guys go to heavyweight as freshman. I was just blessed that even though I wasn't as big as some of the other guys, I was able to step in right away at heavyweight.”

American former mixed martial artist and UFC Heavyweight Champion

Frank Mir is an American former mixed martial artist and former UFC heavyweight champion. He competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight division for much of the 2000s and 2010s, and finished his professional MMA career in Bellator MMA in 2019. Mir is known for his long UFC run and for setting the record for the most submission victories in UFC heavyweight history. He fought 27 times in the UFC, held the promotion's longest uninterrupted contract tenure for a time, and was the first man to knock out and the first to submit Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.