A few weeks ago, former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir revealed he would be moving his training camp for upcoming his bout against Daniel Cormier at UFC on FOX 7, which goes down this weekend (April 20, 2013) from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
Originally doing work in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mir relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to train at the famed Jackson-Winkeljohn Mixed Martial Arts academy.
Permanently.
The move was a much-needed change of scenery, which helped "switch things up," according to Mir, something that would enable him to focus a bit more on his upcoming clash against "DC."
Training out of his personal gym in "Sin City" for the majority of his career under the tutelage of Ricky Lundell and submission wizard Robert Drysdale, Mir tells The Las Vegas Sun that training at Jackson's has afforded him the opportunity to train with fighters of all shapes and sizes thanks to a very deep talent pool.
"Having a bigger depth of talent to work with in the gym every day and bouncing ideas off of them was great," said Mir. "Misery enjoys company, and having all these other world-class fighters in the gym made it all go a little faster."
It was the advice he received from all members of Jackson's MMA that Frank found helpful, too.
"And having guys like Donald Cerrone sitting outside of the cage when I'm with those guys and giving me pointers and tips was a great help," Mir said. "Everyone, in my eyes, was a great help."
And while many expected the move to be a one-time trip to "The Land of Enchantment," Mir says it's just the opposite. "It will be a permanent move," Mir said. "I very much enjoyed it down there. I thought the preparation for the fight was the best I had ever done. Regardless of the outcome. I think a lot of people would say if I lose, I wouldn't consider the move to be justified, but I don't agree. It was a great experience and I'll be back to do it again."
The former champion's last trip to the Octagon didn't prove successful as the jiu-jitsu black belt came up short in his bid to capture his third world title against Junior dos Santos -- the ruler of the heavyweight division at that time -- at UFC 146 last May.
While fight fans anxiously wait to see just what kind of results come out of his training camp switch; win, lose or draw, the move to Jackson's MMA will be a permanent one, regardless of the outcome of his bout against Cormier.
Iron sharpens iron.