Frank Mir says Roy Nelson rematch will not be an exciting fight for the fans

Frank Mir is scheduled to fight his friend Roy Nelson in a rematch this October in Bellator, and he admits that fans may not find the fight to be entertaining.

The former UFC heavyweight champion Mir previously fought Nelson at UFC 130 in 2011, and he now rematches his fellow Las Vegas native in the main event of Bellator 231 this October. Mir says that stylistically this isn’t going to be a fight that excites fans, and he didn’t want Bellator to book this fight.

Here’s what Mir said about the fight on his recent Phone Booth Fighting podcast (h/t MMAjunkie.com).

“Whenever I fight Roy, I pretty much tell people, I warn people ahead of time: ‘It may not be the most exciting thing you’ve ever seen, because if you take too many risks with Roy, you get your head knocked off,’” Mir said.

According to Mir, he told the Bellator matchmakers he didn’t want to fight Nelson, but it was the only fight available.

“They were like, ‘Hey we want you to fight Roy on Aug. 23 or 24, and I turned it down,” Mir said. I was like, ‘Ah, I really don’t want to fight Roy.’…  Then I got the little email where they’re going to extend my contract and see if they can find me a new opponent.

“Well, lo and behold, they never found me a new opponent, and I didn’t fight. So, I come back and I’m texting them: ‘Hey can I get a fight sometime soon. Do you think I’ll fight before November?’ Then I get, ‘Well, we’ve got you pegged for Roy again.’ I’m like, ‘Man, you guys aren’t taking f*cking no for an answer, are you?’”

Mir says that because of his friendship with Nelson, he isn’t expecting any fireworks in this fight, and he’s warning fans ahead of time that the fight may be a snoozer.

“Roy and I have have trained quite a bit since that fight,” Mir said. “We know each other, too. That’s the problem, but no one wants to listen to me. When two guys know each other well – Roy knows me, and I know him – the idea of trying to bring any trickery is not going to really happen. Both guys understand what the other guy can do, and become very good at nullifying it.”

Do you agree with Frank Mir that his rematch with Roy Nelson won’t be an exciting fight?