Frank Mir is a fine mixed martial artsist: Talented, dangerous and decorated.
However, he's remarkably aloof, especially when it comes to his wicked, bone-breaking exploits inside the Octagon.
Mir snapped the humerus of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira like a twig last night at UFC 140, torquing a kimura until it spiraled the Brazilian's lower right arm into smithereens. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White also indicated that "Big Nog" sustained additional damage to his shoulder, which will likely keep him on the sidelines indefinitely ... if not forever.
And Mir barely offered an ounce of regret or concern. On the contrary, he half-heartedly acknowledged the bad break in his post-fight speech and then went on to grin and giggle throughout the UFC 140 post-fight press conference.
Mir won the rematch that Nogueira demanded. He became not only the first man to finish the legendary champion via strikes, but then he went ahead and one-upped that accomplishment with a fight-ending submission, which was once again a first in his illustrious career.
Make no mistake, Mir should be proud of what he's done, but he shouldn't bask in the glow of career-threatening fractured limbs.
I don't think anyone expected or expects an apology from Mir.
Nogueira is a highly-trained jiu-jitsu practitoner, a black belt who -- in addition to Mir -- is regarded as one of the very best submission fighters in the sport. He's well aware of what happens when pride and adrenaline override the mind's natural instinct to cry "uncle."
Bones break, injuries happen.
Mir is well aware of this painful reality, too:
"When I locked up Nogueira [with a kimura], I had a strong inclination that he was not going to tap. So, I took a deep breath and you guys saw what happened.... I think it was a dislocated elbow of fracture of the lower humerus .... I think that was pretty reminiscent of the old days, you know? Tim Sylvia. That's not the first time I've caused a fracture in the Octagon and in practice. As far as how it feels, I may get in trouble if I describe it too much ... might think I'm disturbed [laughs]."
Disturbing seems like an understatement.
Mir did everything right last night during the fight at the Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but his deviant and seemingly sadistic penchant for wanting to cause serious bodily harm to his opponents is alarming.
He very well could have ended the career of Nogueira last night. I sustained an eerily similar fracture (not from a kimura) more than a decade ago, which took a seven-inch titanium plate, nine screws and nine months of rehabilitation to repair. Even still, the injury still causes me major problems ... and I write, not fight, for a living.
Nogueira has a long recovery road ahead of him. He's hurt bad. And Frank Mir is probably still grinning.
That's not only disturbing, it's disgusting.
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