What Is Frank Mir's Net Worth?
Frank Mir is an American mixed martial artist who has a net worth of $4 million. Frank Mir is a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. For a time, he held the record for most victories and most submission wins in UFC Heavyweight history, as well as most fights in the Heavyweight division. He is also the only man who has ever won a match by a toe-hold submission in the UFC. In June 2014 Frank was ranked #10 in the UFC official Heavyweight rankings. He holds victories against Tank Abbott and Brock Lesnar and was the first to knock out and submit Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In 1998, Mir won the Nevada State Wrestling Championship. He holds a Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and won the 2007 NAGA Absolute Division. Frank was named the 2008 Sherdog Comeback Fighter of the Year. He was formerly a bouncer at a strip club in Las Vegas and worked as UFC's Director of Security.
Career Earnings/Biggest Purses
Thanks to a 2023 antitrust lawsuit, all payments made to fighters between 2011 and 2016 were disclosed. From these disclosures we learned that Frank Mir earned a total of $3.5 million from guarantees and PPV bonuses between 2011 and 2016. Some notable payouts and fights include:
- $400,000 – Roy Nelson
- $480,000 – Junior dos Santos
- $415,000 – Daniel Cormier
- $415,000 – Josh Barnett
- $415,000 – Alistair Overeem
- $450,000 – Antonio Silva
- $475,000 – Todd Duffee
- $400,000 – Mark Hunt
Early Life
Francisco Santos Mir III was born on May 24, 1979, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is of Cuban descent through his father. His parents owned a fighting school where Mir began training and competing in American Kenpo. By the time he was a teenager, he had already earned his black belt. Mir's father played a large role in convincing him that he should begin wrestling in order to learn how to avoid submissions as a fighter. While a student at Bonanza High School, Frank joined the wrestling team as a junior. He lost his first nine matches. However, during his senior year, he went 44-1 and won the state championship in the sport. He also played fullback and defensive end on his school's football team. Additionally, he competed in track and field in the discus event. His discus throw is still a record in the region.
Career
Before beginning his professional fighting career, Mir worked as a bouncer at the Spearmint Rhino in Las Vegas. He actually continued working there as Director of Security in the early days of his career. During this time, Frank met UFC matchmaker Joe Silva while training at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school. Silva suggested that Mir begin competing in mixed martial arts. In July 2001, Frank made his professional mixed martial arts fighting debut against Jerome Smit. He won the bout by unanimous decision after two rounds. He won his second fight in August against Dan Quinn.
In November 2001, Mir made his UFC debut against Roberto Traven, who had previously competed in the UFC and was the 1999 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship open classic champion. Mir defeated Traven in round one and earned the "Tapout of the Night" distinction. His next UFC fight came in March 2022 when he fought eight-time UFC veteran Pete Williams. Mir submitted Williams in 46 seconds. It was the only submission loss of Williams' career. In July of that year, Frank fought Ian Freeman in London at UFC 38: Brawl at the Hall. Mir was not as successful in this fight, as Freeman achieved side control four minutes into the first round. Once a referee signaled Frank to stand up as the duo had separated following a time-out, Mir struggled to stand, and the fight was called.
In February 2003, Frank faced Tank Abbott. Mir submitted Abbott with a toe hold in 46 seconds. In June of that year, Frank fought Wes Sims at UFC 43: Meltdown and won by disqualification less than three minutes into the first round after Sims stomped on Mir's jaw. They later faced each other in a rematch in January 2004. Frank won by knockout in the second round.
In June 2004, Mir fought Tim Sylvia for the then-vacant UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 48: Payback. The referee, Herb Dean, stopped the fight less than a minute into the first round after Mir broke Sylvia's right forearm with an armbar. Frank thus earned the title. Soon afterward, Mir was involved in a car accident in which he was knocked off his motorcycle. He sustained two breaks in his femur, and he tore all the ligaments in his knee. While he was recovering, an Interim Heavyweight Championship was created, which Andrei Arlovski won by defeating Tim Sylvia. In August 2005, it became clear that Mir would not be able to fight Arlovski, as had been scheduled, and he was stripped of his title.
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Mir fought his first fight since his accident in February 2006. In what came to be considered a shocking upset, he was defeated by a first-round total knockout by Marcio Cruz. His next fight took place in July of that year against Dan Christison. He won by unanimous decision, though he received criticism after the fight for his sloppy appearance and performance. Many commentators thought that he should have easily finished Christison rather than having the fight go to the panel of judges.
Mir was then matched with Brandon Vera during UFC 56: Bad Intentions. He lost the fight and attributed his bad performance to the fact that he was still struggling with lingering health issues following his accident. He had to drop out of his next planned fight in April 2007 due to a shoulder injury. However, he won his next fight against Antoni Hardonk via kimura. His next major fight was against WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar, who made his UFC debut in February 2008. Though Mir struggled near the beginning of the fight, he ultimately got Lesnar to submit and earned the "Submission of the Night" honor.
Soon after, Mir earned his second Heavyweight Championship title when he defeated Randy Couture. He then faced Brock Lesnar in a rematch for UFC 100. Lesnar defeated Mir and became the UFC Heavyweight Champion. The match broke many UFC records in terms of pay-per-view sales and is in the top three best-selling UFC fights of all time.
Mir continued fighting for the UFC until 2016. He suffered a few more injuries during the final years of his time with the UFC but still consistently won challenging fights. He was officially released from his UFC contract in 2017, a year in which he did not fight at all, though he has six fights left on his contract. He later signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA, and his contract with them expired in 2020.
Mir continues to hold the record for most finishes and the most submission victories in UFC Heavyweight history.
Personal Life
Frank married his wife, Jennifer, in 2004. Together, they have had three children. Additionally, Jennifer had a child from a previous relationship whom Mir adopted. His oldest daughter, Bella, has also become a professional mixed martial artist. Frank is an atheist and a Libertarian in terms of political beliefs. He tried to follow a vegan diet for a year but ultimately switched to Paleo after he was suffering from a lack of energy.
