Frank Mir was elated to defeat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira a second time but he wasn’t joyous over his opponent’s arm break.
Back in Dec. 2011, Mir took on Nogueira in a rematch. Mir had already scored a TKO finish over “Big Nog” back in Dec. 2008. The rematch served as the co-main event of UFC 140. Mir was staggered early in the bout but he got a hold of a kimura when things hit the ground. Mir ended up breaking Nogueira’s arm for the submission finish. While it was a memorable finish due to Mir’s technique, the gnarly arm snap remains in the mind of MMA fans to this day.
Frank Mir Reflects On Breaking Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s Arm
Mir appeared as a guest on the MMA TRUFAN podcast. During his appearance, Mir talked about how he felt after snapping Nogueira’s arm (via Bloody Elbow).
“I’m looking up at [Herb Dean], the arm let loose and it obviously snapped, and it actually disturbed me to break his arm. If you watch the fight again. You can see as I’m doing the interview, I kind of look over my shoulder at him because I’m looking at him on the ground,” Mir explained. “It’s because it’s somebody I’ve admired and someone I’ve looked up to and studied. How I do certain moves are because of him. That was a weird place to be. It was almost akin to beating up your big brother.”
It’s almost needless to say, but Mir nabbed a bonus for “Submission of the Night” at UFC 140. For that event, bonuses were $75,000. Mir went on to challenge Junior dos Santos for the UFC heavyweight championship, falling short via TKO. As for Nogueira, he returned to action 10 months after his loss to Mir. He submitted Dave Herman in the second round in his final win as a pro MMA fighter.
