Frank Mir was expecting Brock Lesnar at Madison Square Garden, settled for Todd Duffee on cable TV

How close did fight fans come to witnessing a rubber match between Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar?

The former heavyweight champion told MMA Fighting he was given the impression -- by some "pretty high level people" over at ZUFFA headquarters -- that the gears were in motion for he and "The Beast Incarnate" to settle their differences once and for all.

Inside the world's most famous arena.

"I didn't want Todd at first when I found out that he was calling me out and stuff. There was the talk, I mean the UFC powers that be, they told me, I was under the impression that Brock was getting ready to sign and that if that happens, I'd be the guy, as long as I did what I had to do with Bigfoot, that could be a good fight to build up, you know. 'He's had a layoff, you're coming off the win, let's make this trilogy.' I was hearing rumors of Madison Square Garden. So it caught me by surprise when they told me that he announced his retirement. I was like, 'Well, that's kind of crazy, because there was some pretty high level people that I was speaking to, that told me that it was all but a done deal, that it was a signed contract.'"

Instead, Mir got a match-up against Todd Duffee (details) -- which is set to go down tomorrow night (Weds., July 15, 2015) inside Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California -- while Lesnar got paid the big bucks to stay with WWE.

Nevertheless, Mir isn't convinced Brock was ready to tango for a third and final time, after watching him take out Silva in impressive fashion.

"I just think financially, you know, the guy that goes to two different car dealerships? I think, maybe he just took advantage of the instant attention that he got by bringing up the UFC's name, and so probably got a bigger contract with the professional wrestling organization. And that being said, maybe watching the Bigfoot fight, he decided maybe that (I) wasn't the best for him coming off a layoff."

Don't be scared, homie.

For more on Mir's upcoming heavyweight clash against Duffee click here.