Frank Mir vows to help “fix” MMA after watching Tim Sylvia’s slap fighting debut: “They are not compensated for what they generate”

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir believes MMA needs to change.

The former heavyweight titleholder is set for his final bout later this year at UFL 3. It’ll be Mir’s first MMA fight since a unanimous decision victory over Roy Nelson at Bellator 231 in October 2019. While his final opponent isn’t yet set, he’s excited to make his debut with the upstart UFL promotion.

United Fight League just got off the ground last year, but has some big goals in mind. Those goals include all fighters on the roster having healthcare, as well as other benefits. It’s worth noting that former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou left the UFC in January due to concerns over health insurance, among other issues.

For those reasons, Frank Mir is happy to be with the company, which he believes can help improve MMA. The former heavyweight champion discussed his hope to help “fix” the sport in a recent interview with TalkSport. There, Mir gave former opponent Tim Sylvia competing in slap fighting as a recent example of why things need to change.

‘The Maine-aic” was forced to retire from MMA over a decade ago, as he couldn’t pass medical testing to compete. Nonetheless, Sylvia was seen competing in a slap-fighting promotion earlier this month, showing Mir that fighters deserve a lot more than what they currently earn.

Image Credit: Bellator

Frank Mir slams slap-fighting after Tim Sylvia’s debut

“I think that is one of the things I want to fix about our sport,” Frank Mir stated in the interview with Talksport. “You know, when an NFL player goes broke three years after his career no one sits there and goes. ‘Well, the NFL didn’t pay him enough.’ No, they have a player’s union, he got paid, he got compensated, he just went out like an idiot and was having $100,000 parties.”

He continued, “When you see an MMA fighter who is struggling after his career, people don’t really say, ‘Oh, he didn’t manage his money well.’ It’s, ‘Well, they are not compensated for what they generate.’ If you look at some of the numbers we pull off on pay-per-views and how much the fighters get paid – that’s one of the things I want to fix about our industry.”

What do you make of these comments? Do you agree with Frank Mir? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!