Frank Mir: Couture, Liddell and I fought hard to not be considered thugs, Conor McGregor dragged us back

Despite not competing at UFC 223 a few weeks ago in Brooklyn, N.Y., Conor McGregor made his presence felt at the event, as his attack on a bus full of fighters left many injured and forced the cancellation of three fights due to injuries sustained to Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg.

It rattled a few UFC employees, as well.

While there have been some who have commended Conor’s willingness to defend one of his friends at any cost, most weren’t too thrilled with the antics of “Notorious.” Some, like UFC women’s strawweight contender Michelle Waterson condemned Conor for his actions, saying if he goes unpunished many will think it’s okay to engage in such behavior.

And now, one of the pioneers of mixed martial arts (MMA) has stepped forward to give his take on the incident, as Frank Mir sayd by Conor doing what he did, it set the sport he and many old-school fighters tried to portray as one not ran by thugs.

“Seeing Conor do that, on a personal level it bugs me. Because I’m like, dammit, the guys like me Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, we fought for years to not be considered a thug,” proclaimed Mir during a recent interview with Fan Sided.

“And now you are going to drag us back because you are the most famous guy in our sport. You are the richest guy, the most notable character. And they are going to be like, ‘Look, there they are, that’s him.’ All people do it, you will judge us by our most notable face.”

McGregor is expected to return to New York for a court hearing this summer, which could tell us plenty regarding his looming return to the Octagon.

As for Mir, he will look to add to his own legacy in a positive manner when he faces off against Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 198 on April 28, 2018. For more on that heavyweight showdown click here.