Frank Mir: I Don’t Feel The Same About The UFC Anymore

Frank Mir‘s relationship with the UFC and its president Dana White seems to have taken a massive hit as of late.

Mir is currently serving a suspension for an alleged United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation. The former UFC heavyweight champ joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour yesterday (Mon. April 24, 2017) to discuss the whole ordeal, and his dwindling relationship with Dana White.

The submission specialist says that he’s reached out to White on multiple occasions, first seeking council on his ongoing trials with USADA, as well as asking if the UFC boss would be involved with his induction into the Nevada Sports Hall of Fame last year. Mir says he’s yet to hear back from White, and he’s very disappointed (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I thought maybe this was another situation like that, but I guess not,” Mir said. “I don’t know.”

“I’ve tried to just make things work as well as possible,” Mir said. “But I don’t even know if I’m allowed to discuss things with other organizations and find out if I can fight for them or not. I’m kind of in this limbo.”

Mir also eluded to the fact that UFC ownership has changed recently, and wonders if his relationship with the company would be where it is now had the Ferttitas remained in the front office:

“My feelings have been hurt, yes,” Mir said. “If that’s what you’re asking. I don’t feel the same about the company as I felt years ago. And I’m seeing that even with some of the ways they’re handling things the way they handle them now. There’s been several times where I’m like, ‘Wow, if Lorenzo was still there at the office, if Dana was still in full control and not just a minority shareholder, would that have ever happened?’ I don’t know about that.

“I don’t know if this is the same company that I started with 15 years ago.”

At this point of his career, Mir is left wondering if he should utilize the hard earned money he’s accumulated over his career to fight his ongoing struggles with USADA, or simply ride out his suspension. He knows, however, if a fighter of lesser caliber is falsely accused of violating USADA’s terms, they won’t be as fortunate.

Mir wants answers, not just for him, but for his family:

“Now do I spend x amount of money more going after the supplements I took three years ago now … or do I just ride out the rest of the suspension?” Mir said. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t sit well with me.”

“Thankfully, I’ve had a successful enough career that I have a little bit of money to try to fight this,” Mir said. “What about the guys who don’t? What if a prelim guy gets falsely accused or takes something from a supplement company he wasn’t aware of. Where does he get the money to try and battle this?”

“For me and my family, I want to know what happened and how it happened,” Mir said. “That’s for me.”