UFC 191's Frank Mir not happy about fighting Andrei Arlovski 'on a social level'

Forget fighting, Frank Mir just wants to be friends.

In what was either a commendable display of sportsmanship, or a polite way of saying I'm going to end your win streak, the two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight titleholder offered perspective on his upcoming UFC 191 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event clash on Sept. 5, 2015, with Andrei Arlovski.

"In one sense, I'm not happy about it on a social level. I think we both have a lot to offer the sport and I don't want to see either one of us derailed right now," Mir told Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (via Bloody Elbow). "I would have been much happier with this situation if we could have skipped each other at this point. I could have fought someone else in the top three and he could have fought Werdum for the title and then we could have faced each other in a title fight instead if he would have won."

Indeed, both Mir (18-9) and "Pitbull" 24-10-(1) have enjoyed resurgent careers. The "Sin City" native Mir is on the upswing in 2015 after incurring a disastrous 0-4 losing streak between 2012-2014, having soundly defeated Antonio Silva and Todd Duffee over the last six months.

Meanwhile, Arlovski is back in his second stint with UFC, having reeled off three-straight Octagon wins and five fights overall over the likes of Travis Browne and Silva.

The pair's Heavyweight tussle comes a decade too late after they were previously slated to face in Fall 2005 for the gold; however, that fight didn't come to fruition because of Mir's horrific motorcycle crash the year before.

With both big men now enjoying success in two distinct and separate UFC eras, Mir just wishes that could go on, without either one interrupting the other's good fortunes.

"Here's a guy who was at the top. He went from the pinnacle of our sport to getting cut, signing with other organizations, losing more and he's getting put out cold," said Mir. "Everyone is saying he's done, his chin is gone, he needs to retire and this guy doesn't listen to anybody. He just said, 'Nope, I'm going to keep moving forward and figure out a way.' He's better now."

The Belarusian bomber's most recent slaying was over his friend and former teammate, Browne, in what was an epic, first-round meeting (highlights here) of giants back at UFC 187 on Memorial Day weekend.

If Arlovski can get his mind past the fact he was fighting a friend then I'm confident Mir can hold back the tears of having to put the former's win streak to bed.

For the full UFC 191: "Johnson vs. Dodson 2" fight card click here.