When I caught up with Frank Mir just two days before his UFC 111 interim heavyweight title bout with Shane Carwin, I found him in a philosophical mood. Though Mir is known for his brashness, part of that is by design. Mir knows that MMA is part entertainment, and that fans like to be invested in fighters, whether it's love or hate.But the former UFC heavyweight champ can also be quite reflective. We spent a lot of time that day talking about his family, about his recent visit to the site of 9/11 in Manhattan, and even about the possibility of losing. But perhaps the most interesting thing to come out of that conversation was Mir admitting that he's at least had some thoughts about going into politics.
"You know what, there is a very small seed in my mind about that," he told MMA Fighting. "I realize a lot of people talk a lot and don't do things. Chael Sonnen [who is running for political office in Oregon] surprised me. It made me realize, I'm very opinionated, but I don't do anything. So I realized, it's kind of wrong if you have a viewpoint on life but don't do anything to make it better and richer around you.
"I have a platform on which to speak," he continued. "If I can give my viewpoint on the world, which is extremely liberal, which might bug a few. But that's how I think about things. I'm a very open-minded and easy-going guy, which is I guess kind of funny for a guy who fights for a living."
Mir used the recent, divisive health care debate as an example of how politicians sometimes falls away from their stated mission to serve the public. He said he appreciates the dialogue between parties because critical thinking is an American hallmark, but notes that we can't hold ourselves to an unreachable standard when there is so much at stake.
"They end up using perfection to paralyze their ability to move forward," he said. "I don't want to look around and see people that can't afford health care. We can always adapt and change things going forward, but we live in the greatest country in the world. We should use basic healthcare as baseline that all American citizens are entitled to.
"It makes me mad to see Americans who aren't proud of their country," he continued. "You can be critical of our country. That's OK. I'm critical of myself. My dad's critical of me, my wife is, too. It doesn't mean they're not proud of me. It means they want me to strive for the best. It's a fine balance. I hate when people say they're going to leave the country. You live here, be proud to be here. The same way, if you're Canadian or English, be proud to be Canadian or English. Be proud of where you come from."
Though Mir hasn't made any public comments since his loss to Carwin, he addressed the possibility before the fight. Saying he planned to take his family to Disneyland win or lose, Mir accepted the fact that defeat was a possibility.
"Ten fights will happen, and 10 people will not like the outcome," he said. "But life's not over for them. You just go back in the gym, improve and go on. Not all of us can control the outcome of our fate. All you can focus on is that you do the best you can. I'm out there to show everyone I'm a serious competitor, but if I don't win, it's not time to go jump off a building. Life is great if you win. But life's not over if you lose."
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