Frank Mir hopes to return to the Octagon in 2018, still wants Lesnar trilogy fight

In April of 2016, it was announced that Frank Mir had been notified of a potential USADA violation, and that he could be facing up to two years on the shelf as a result. In the face of this lengthy suspension, Mir seemed to be seriously considering retirement. In the months since this USADA violation was announced, however, he has changed his tune.

In a recent interview with Australia’s Submission Radio, Mir explained that he’s itching to get back to the cage, ideally sometime in early 2018. And while he’ll be closing in on 40 by that point, he still believes he’ll be able to hang with the division’s best. The precedent is there, after all.

“I’m still 37,” he explained. 

“Mark Hunt’s doing really well in his early 40’s. For all practical purposes I think [46-year-old] Dan Henderson should probably be the middleweight champion right now [after his close loss to Michael Bisping]. And so, but eventually, I mean let’s be realistic, saying you’re 50 and fighting at a high level probably is still kind of a stretch for human physiology.”

If Mir does return to the Octagon, there is one potential fight that intrigues above all the rest: a trilogy bout with Brock Lesnar. Mir won his first bout with the hulking former champ by submission, and lost the second by TKO. And while Lesnar is currently serving a PED-related suspension of his own, he would be eligible to compete in MMA again by the time Mir is allowed to return to the cage.

“Oh absolutely,” Mir said of a potential rubber match with Lesnar. “But I mean at this point, I just want to go out there and still compete and perform. So fighting Brock, obviously that would be a good money payday cause of his name recognition and the amount of people that would watch and the story behind it. So it makes a lot more sense than some other fights. But at this point, I just want to get back in there and compete.”

Would you be interested in seeing Frank Mir fight Brock Lesnar for a third time? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/24/2017.