Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will be the color commentator for WEC 42 Sunday night on Versus, and all this week he's providing his insight into the WEC fights. Today I ask Mir about how his second career as a color commentator has aided his first career as a fighter, and why he prefers watching smaller guys fight.
Michael David Smith: Has working as a commentator made you better as a fighter?
Frank Mir: I believe so. In the last two years my fighting ability has become more well rounded, and that comes from watching every fighter and breaking them down, and trying to explain techniques. I think as a commentator I can call moves quickly because I have a broad view of martial arts, and whether a fight is on the feet or on the ground or in the clinch, I can see moves get telegraphed and understand what's happening. There have been times when I've been commentating, and I've seen a move and thought, "Wow, I never thought about that transition. Now I want to go back into my gym and try that out."
I saw Urijah Faber off the clinch throw a knee, and then in my fight I did the same thing, because I had been training that. I never would have done that if I hadn't been sitting cageside and seen Urijah do it first.
Do you, as a heavyweight, prefer watching the smaller guys fight?
Most definitely. There are very few heavyweights I actually enjoy watching. There are a few, but in many cases heavyweights are very boring. A lot of time it comes down to what I call a battle of turtles: Whoever ends up on his back ends up losing. The lighter weights put so much more technique into a five-minute round, with so many more transitions, so many different positions, athletic ability and body movement that are so much greater than you see with the heavyweights. Most heavyweights aren't that flexible or that fast. In the gym, the bigger, stronger guys are usually not as interested in becoming more technical.
What's the one final thing you'd say to fans about WEC 42?
I think you're going to see some huge fights, and with the WEC and the UFC going on, it's going to be a great weekend.
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