[wOg]

I've always had a soft spot for Frank Mir. It was seeing him on the cover of Muscle & Fitness a few years ago that clued me in to the fact that John McCain hadn't managed to kill off the UFC after all. That article on Mir probably played a role in my starting to train jiu jitsu shortly afterward, also.

What is the grapplers' consensus on Mir's pure jiu jitsu skills? Has anybody here trained with him--or trained with anybody who has? He comes across as a pretty classy guy, and I like his WEC color commentating. I'd love to see him improve to the level of being able to challenge Nog (I hope) for the UFC HW title.

So what's your take on Mir's jiu jitsu? Above average for an MMA guy? World competitive at his weight class? Somewhere in between?

[Intalo]

Originally Posted by wOg

He comes across as a pretty classy guy, and I like his WEC color commentating.

I agree, he is by far the best English speaking commentator in MMA. No question. But his "bias" to put it lightly towards Faber in his last fight--tho tellingly pushed by promoters--was just so annoying.

[theNuge]

I don't even know who he trained BJJ under. Does anyone here know?

[CyberPunk]

He's with Marc Laimon I believe.

[Little Mac]

Originally Posted by CyberPunk

He's with Marc Laimon I believe.

He got his black belt under Ricardo Pires.. and trained with Pires then with Laimon for a while Now I think hes on his own Traning with The New Legion Jiu Jitsu Guys...Cameron Diffley and His Crew

[TsukinoKage]

He's one of the few HWs in MMA that is very technical. Nog is another one, Vera with his standup, Fedor too.

You see how good those guys are, even without being the biggest in their class.

[Ninjamurf]

Originally Posted by Intalo

I agree, he is by far the best English speaking commentator in MMA. No question. But his "bias" to put it lightly towards Faber in his last fight--tho tellingly pushed by promoters--was just so annoying.

Oh...MY...GAWD! Are you serious?! His early commentating was absolute torture. And his post fight interviews?!?!

"So...um...tell us a little bit about the fight."
"Your winner ladies and gentlemen."
(repeat at EVERY SINGLE post fight interview.)

He's doing better now but he's still no where near as polished as, oh, I don't know, every other commentator? You may not like Rogan or Rutten or Goldberg or Glazer or Kruk but I never realized how good those guys were UNTIL I saw Mir. My friends and I used to make jokes whenever he came on screen. He'd pull his hand out of his pocket, make a gesture, shove his hand back in his pocket and give the camera a goofy stare. It was painful because I actually like the guy.

As for his jits...it's pretty sick.

[Magooglie]

Originally Posted by Little Mac

He got his black belt under Ricardo Pires.. and trained with Pires then with Laimon for a while Now I think hes on his own Traning with The New Legion Jiu Jitsu Guys...Cameron Diffley and His Crew

All his RawVegas pre-81 videos were at Ken Hahn's gym, who was the striking coach at Cobra Kai.
Frank's good on the ground. I always wonder how well he would have done in sport BJJ if that was his main concern instead of being MMA focused.

And speaking of Legion, they have new tech vids up at legionbjj.com

[wOg]

I'd love to see some training footage of Mir. I was really impressed by his keylock of Pete Williams--and the way he credited his gi training for it.

Maybe we'll get to see something on UFC All Access as they promote his upcoming fight ...

[blanko]

wasn't he with sergio pena also?