Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir won’t be making his return to mixed martial arts competition anytime soon.
Mir was among the veteran names to sign with the newly created Global Fight League ahead of its inaugural draft this past January. The 45-year-old was ultimately picked alongside Andrei Arlovski for Team Los Angeles.
But those plans will be put on hold after Mir revealed in a post on Instagram that he “underwent an emergency spinal fusion and laminectomy of (his) entire thoracic spine.”
“I wanted to take a moment to update you on my health and share a bit about my recent journey,” Frank Mir wrote. “As many of you know, I’ve been dedicated to martial arts since I was just four years old. My love for hard training has driven me to push my limits as a professional athlete. However, this passion comes with its challenges.
“Recently, I faced a significant hurdle: I underwent an emergency spinal fusion and laminectomy of my entire thoracic spine. Although it was a tough decision, I’m happy to report that the surgery was a complete success!
“Now, I’m diving into rehabilitation and focusing on my recovery. This is just another challenge that I intend to overcome, and I’m committed to coming back stronger, both mentally and physically, than ever.
“Thank you all for your support during this time. Your encouragement means the world to me, and I can’t wait to share my progress with you.
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
Mir, who boasts a 19-13 record in pro MMA, last competed under the Bellator banner in 2019. He outpointed fellow vet Roy Nelson to record his first victory in five fights and four years.
It remains to be seen when the 45-year-old, who beat the likes of Brock Lesnar, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Tim Sylvia, and Mirko Cro Cop during his prime in the sport, will return to the cage.
The Global Fight League’s rollout of matchups for its inaugural season isn’t exactly being met with positive reactions, especially the most recently confirmed bout between former UFC heavyweight champions Frank Mir and Fabrício Werdum.
This year, the GFL is set to stage events for the first time, as the new organization targets success in mixed martial arts with a team-based format. 15 shows are apparently lined up until August, before a pair of playoff cards and one final event goes down at the end of 2025.
And more matchups driving further “Grandad Fight League” jokes among fans look to be on the way, starting with a heavyweight clash between 45-year-old Team Los Angeles representative Mir and 47-year-old Werdum, of Team São Paulo.
That was pointed out by some fans while reacting to his first fight since a 2023 decision loss to Junior dos Santos under the Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA banner. Mir, meanwhile, hasn’t fought in MMA since 2019 and lost both his professional boxing debut and Triad Combat bout 2021.
The newly created Global Fight League (GFL) has announced a lengthy list of signings ahead of its launch in 2025, including multiple former champions from the UFC and other organizations.
After years of preparation, the GFL is set to stage events for the first time next April, as the promotion looks to succeed in the fight game with a team-based format and season structure.
15 cards are planned up until August, after which two playoff events and one final will take place before the year’s end. GFL founder Darren Owen outlined that and more during an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned.
Perhaps most notably, he revealed some of the major names who have put pen to paper on deals with the GFL and will be in the mix for the inaugural draft on Jan. 24, when six city teams will select 20 fighters (two in each of the 10 divisions) from a pool of 300 athletes.
Among them are former UFC champions Luke Rockhold, Tyron Woodley, Fabrício Werdum, Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis, Frank Mir, Junior dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, and Renan Barão, in addition to high-profile veterans like Alexander Gustafsson, Gegard Mousasi, Aleksei Oleinik, Kevin Lee, Thiago Santos, Jeremy Stephens, Hector Lombard and Jimmie Rivera.
Elsewhere, a number of other comebacks have raised skeptical eyebrows, including the latest return from retirement for ex-WSOF champ Marlon Moraes, who most recently hung up the gloves after a brief stint in the PFL extended his losing skid to seven straight fights.
For the full list of names confirmed by Owen and those on the GFL website, see below:
Heavyweight (265lbs)
Alan Belcher (18-8)
Aleksandr Maslov (11-1)
Aleksei Oleinik (61-18-1)
Andrei Arlovski (34-24)
Fabrício Werdum (24-9)
Frank Mir (16-11)
Greg Hardy (7-5)
Guto Inocente (11-6)*
Junior dos Santos (21-10)
Oli Thompson (18-9)
Philipe Lins (18-5)
Robelis Despaigne (5-2)
Roggers Souza (15-8)
Stuart Austin (18-9)
Tanner Boser (21-10)
Image: UFC.com
Light Heavyweight (225lbs)
Alexander Gustafsson (18-8)
Cleiton Silva (16-4)
Emiliano Sordi (23-10)
Ilir Latifi (16-9, 1 NC)*
Rafael Carvalho (17-8)
Thiago Santos (22-13, 1 NC)*
Image: UFC.com
Middleweight (200lbs)
Gegard Mousasi (49-9)
Chauncey Foxworth (19-10)
Glaico Franca (23-8)
Hector Lombard (34-10)
Jozef Wittner (16-4)
Kyle Daukaus (15-4)
Luke Rockhold (16-6)
Markus Perez (14-6)
Phil Hawes (15-4)
Wanderlei Silva (35-14)
Image: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Welterweight (180lbs)
Abubakar Nurmagomedov (17-4)
Austin Tweedy (11-4)
Benson Henderson (30-12)
Dominick Meriweather (8-1)
Francisco Trinaldo (32-14)
Jordan Mein (31-14)
Julio Spadaccini (8-3)
Michael Irizarry (14-5)
Rousimar Palhares (19-11-1)
Ruan Machado (7-2)
Tyron Woodley (19-7)
Image: UFC/YouTube
Lightweight (165lbs)
Amirkhon Alikhuzhaev (11-4)
Anthony Pettis (25-14)
Ayinda Octave (5-0)
Ayton De Paepe (12-4)
Charles Rosa (14-8)
Feruz Usmonov (4-1)
Gabriel Souza Galindo (9-1)*
Jefferson Pontes (6-1)
Jeremy Stephens (29-21)
John Makdessi (18-9)
Kevin Lee (20-8)
Killys motta (15-4)
Lucas Martins (22-7)
Mohamed Tarek Mohey (9-4)
Oscar Ownsworth (8-3)
Raimundo Batista (18-3)
Sidney Outlaw (19-6)
Stephen Beaumont (11-3)
Will Brooks (26-5)
William Lima (6-3)
Yan Cabral (15-3)
Image: PFL MMA
Featherweight (155lbs)
Alexsandro Cangaty (10-4)
Andre Harrison (22-3-1)
Claudeci Brito (11-4)
Deberson Batista (12-4)
Lance Palmer (22-5)
Lucas Martins (22-7)*
Marcel Adur (16-5)
Marcelo Dias (14-6)
Marlon Moraes (23-13)
Patrizio de Souza (18-6)
Renan Oliveira (11-2)
Image: PFL MMA
Bantamweight (145lbs)
Andre Soukhamthath (14-10)*
Andre Harrison (22-3-1)*
Bubba Jenkins (21-9)*
Cameron Else (11-6)*
Denis Palancica (10-1)
Diego Teixeira (7-4)
Jimmie Rivera (23-5)
Marciano Ferreira (13-3)
Omar Arteaga (11-1)
Pedro Carvalho (13-10)*
Renan Barão (34-0)
Image: UFC.com
Women’s Bantamweight (140lbs)
Alexa Conners (8-5)
Kalindra Faria (19-10-1)
Pannie Kianzad (16-9)
Tonya Evinger (19-8-1)
Women’s Flyweight (130lbs)
Chiara Penco (9-5)
Karolina Owczarz (5-3)*
Miao Ding (18-8)
Women’s Strawweight (120lbs)
Bi Nguyen (6-9)
Silvania Monteiro (11-4)
Image: UFC.com
*Fighter’s weight class for the 2025 draft not yet disclosed on the GFL website
While the chances of a team-based format succeeding in MMA have been doubted by plenty of analysts in the media space, Owen explained to Helwani why he’s confident of it working.
“We’re able to create unique storylines that have never existed in the sport,” Owen said. “That’s one thing we keep hearing. Everyone loves the sport of MMA but the storylines are often not there. What this brings is the talking points, the, ‘OK, are these two fighters going to be teammates or are they going to be potentially fighting?’ And different strategies that come in, different betting elements that come in.
“The No. 1 driver in sports fandom proven is cheering for your favorite team. Favorite teams have never really existed in the sport of MMA. So we’re just creating what already exists and you see it across all the major professional leagues in the world, and this is just the implementation of that team-based league model for the third most popular sport in the world.”
Fighter contracts with the GFL will be exclusive and include a rare 50/50 revenue split. The promotion is also promising to contribute eight percent of each athlete’s purse into a retirement fund and two toward insurance.
“Whatever revenue we receive, whether it’s media rights deals, sponsorships, ticket sales, all of that, 50% goes into the fighter revenue pool from that specific event and then those fighters that are on that event are the ones who share in that revenue percentage.
“Athletes get paid either or — whatever is greater — their guaranteed amount or their revenue share percentage. So someone might have a $50,000 guaranteed purse and they earn 1% revenue share, but if there’s $10 million in that revenue pool for that event, then they’re going to receive $100,000 instead of what they were thinking was $50,000.”
A lot seemingly still needs to come together before the GFL’s launch in 2025, including a broadcast deal before events are staged in April.
Owen confirmed talks are set to take place regarding that in January, and if no agreement is made with an outside entity, he told Helwani the organization is prepared to create its own platform to stream on.
Frank Mir is not someone to take lightly, and things can escalate quickly when ego enters the equation — as it often did with Jason “Mayhem” Miller.
The two were teammates for years, with Mir becoming a UFC heavyweight champion and Miller experiencing a mix of success and struggles both inside and outside the Octagon. Known for his antics, “Mayhem” often tested the limits with his teammates in training — a habit Mir experienced firsthand.
During one infamous training session, things reached a boiling point, nearly resulting in a serious injury to Miller. Mir shared the story during an appearance on the JAXXON podcast.
“We were training at Marc Laimon’s gym, and Laimon said, ‘Hey, Frank, practice is over … once you finish somebody.’ So I just turned it on and started tapping everybody,” Mir recounted. “Then I got to Mayhem, and I put him in a guillotine, and he almost killed himself. He ran his feet up the f***ing cage, trying to flip over me — it was weird. So I let it go, and then I caught him in a kimura.
“I started cranking it and thought, ‘I’m not letting go. F*** this. Today you’re going to learn!’ So I put his hand to the back of his head.”
MMA teams led by former UFC champions Frank Mir and Henry Cejudo will go toe to toe at the United Fight League 5 on August 30, 2024, at The Gila River Wild Horse Pass Casino in Arizona. The sold-out event will be streamed on Kick and Rumble for free as well.
Mir and Cejudo coach UFL’s Team Las Vegas and Team Phoenix, respectively. Although the fighting rules are the same, the state-inspired teams and the team-based scoring system in the promotion are like a breath of fresh air in MMA. It is also the first and only combat sports league to provide health insurance to fighters.
Here’s how the UFL aims to set a new standard for combat sports promotions through its newly introduced scoring system…
Frank Mir Explains How Relying On Stars Like Conor McGregor Produces Inconsistent Results For The UFC
Mir appeared on the talkSPORT MMA YouTube channel to discuss UFL 5’s format and innovative scoring system. Including Las Vegas and Phoenix, UFL will have a total of eight teams with Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson confirmed to lead Team Florida and Southern California, respectively.
Here’s how teams will score points at UFL 5:
Finishing a fight in the first round grants 4 points in a standard bout and 6 points in the main event.
Finishing a fight in the second round grants 3 points in a standard bout and 5 points in the main event.
Finishing a fight in the third round grants 2 points in a standard bout and 4 points in the main event.
Finishing a main event fight in the fourth round grants 3 points.
Finishing a main event fight in the fifth round grants 2 points.
A decision win grants 1 point in a standard bout as well as the main event.
In case there’s a tie after all the fights, the team with the least cage time will get the nod, bragging rights, and $50,000.
As per Mir, this is how the UFL aims to tackle the problem of being overly dependent on a limited number of stars. He claimed that the UFC benefitted heavily from Conor McGregor but the promotion will always produce fewer numbers when he isn’t fighting.
“It made sense to me because I was like, you know, it sucks because when fighters come and go. You know, he’s like, Conor is a phenomenal example. Conor moved the needle like no other fighter, but when he’s not on the card, or he’s not part of there, everybody suffers. He doesn’t know, not as many people are going to view the fights because he’s not fighting. And so, I was like, how can we get around that. And I always watch college wrestling and seen how, here in the States, you can have a guy from Iowa, you know, wrestling Penn State, Minnesota, and Ohio, and all these powerhouses of wrestling that have long traditions and they have, you know, a car stadium, it fills up 60,000 people.”
The two-time UFC heavyweight champ also stated how this isn’t an issue in wrestling. For instance, team-based college wrestling events in the United States attract thousands of viewers constantly despite the absence of huge names. Mir believes that a team-based setting helps them build loyal fans who care more about a team’s progress instead of just wanting to see one fighter.
It is too early to predict how commercially successful UFL’s new format will be in the long run. For now, fans can enjoy Team Phoenix vs. Team Las Vegas which features a bantamweight championship main event bout between Hunter Azure and Vince Morales.
Jones has yet to defend his UFC heavyweight championship since beating Ciryl Gane for it in March 2023. A shoulder injury forced him out of action for almost a year, and the delay in his return has led to many opposing Miocic getting a title shot despite not fighting in over three years.
Although there’s no guarantee that it will happen, Frank Mir has picked Jones to beat Aspinall if they ever fight in the UFC…
Frank Mir Believes Jon Jones Has A 90% Chance Of Beating Tom Aspinall In The UFC Heavyweight Division
Mir discussed a potential fight between Jones and Aspinall on the talkSPORT MMA YouTube channel recently. He acknowledged that the English heavyweight is quite skilled but just doesn’t see him beating the UFC light heavyweight GOAT in the next 12 months.
“Jon’s the GOAT of our sport right now. I get that Tom, and I totally don’t blame him. I would do everything if I was Tom Aspinall. I would do everything I possibly could, maybe show up at his house, get him pissed enough to take that fight because that could just catapult his career.”
The former UFC heavyweight champ believes that Aspinall won’t be able to submit or even take down Jones due to the latter’s superior wrestling. He backed this claim by mentioning Jones’ two wins over Daniel Cormier, arguably one of the best wrestlers to ever fight in the UFC.
“If you said, put my money down on it. If they fought this year or fought within 12 months from now, from what I know training with Jon, from what I’ve seen from Tom, I think Jon has about a 70 to 80, 90% chance of winning the fight.”
“If Tom closes distance, he’s never submitting Jon. And, Jon outwrestles him absolutely. They had a take down contest, he can’t take Jon down one time, zero. Absolutely zero. Jon’s wrestling is unreal. If Jon had gone a different path in life, and maybe had not problem in school, he would have absolutely been the Olympic world champion at wrestling, you know. That’s just the part of me. He outwrestled Cormier, you know what I mean? Cormier’s accolades in wrestling are through the roof.”
Mir added that Aspinall’s explosive and fast striking, especially for a heavyweight, could be his only way to victory against Jones. He remembered the likes of Vitor Belfort and Dominick Reyes who had success against “Bones” due to their speed advantage in striking exchanges.
Interestingly, former rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson also favored Jones to win against Aspinall for similar reasons in a recent interview with Inside Fighting. The former UFC light heavyweight kingpin praised the interim UFC heavyweight champ’s skills but doesn’t think it’ll be enough for him to unify the title against the current undisputed champion.
