Mir finally quits his day job

The dream of many young athletes is to get so successful at their chosen sport that they don't have to work a real job when they grow up.

Frank Mir faced the opposite dilemma.

The 30-year-old quit his job at the Spearmint Rhino just last year, despite the fact he had been an accomplished Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor for several years.

He said the number of people who recognized him after his thrilling submission victory over Brock Lesnar forced him to give up his gig at the gentlemen's club.

"The main reason I did it was that I didn't want to get in trouble. Too many people after the Brock fight were like, 'Oh, (expletive), it's Frank Mir," the Bonanza High School graduate said. "I just didn't want to be in an altercation where something would happen and then I'd have a lawsuit on me or someone take a cheap shot at me.

"You know, I'm sitting there in the club and there's 2,000 people around me. If someone wants to be a hero and hit me from behind and then twist the story up. It just wasn't a safe environment for me anymore," he said.

Mir will be only more recognizable after his rematch with Lesnar in a heavyweight title unification bout in the main event of UFC 100 on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay.

Mir said it won't be a problem for him, as he prefers just to stay home with his family anyway.

"I just don't go out as much," he said of dealing with his increasing fame.

Still, there are times he will be recognized in the course of his daily routine with his wife, Jen, and their four children. He said it usually isn't a problem.

"Ninety percent of the time, everyone is cool," Mir said. "It's just difficult sometimes when they want to have a full-blown conversation with you when you just want to pick up a carton of milk at Wal-Mart."

Mir (12-3) took the interim belt from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in December. Lesnar had knocked out Randy Couture in November to win the heavyweight title.

Mir said it was difficult to have to walk away from a job he had held for six years. He felt keeping his day job, or night job in this case, helped keep his ego in check as he rose through the ranks of the UFC.

"I always had this fear of becoming something that I'm not. I think you see celebrities nowadays where they could have been a normal guy, but five, 10, 15 years into stardom, because they live in a bubble, they become different people," he said. "In the back of my mind, I think those people don't have connections to the normal world. Everyone always treats them like a superstar. Whereas, when I put a suit on at the Rhino, I'd have to walk around and somebody would be like, 'Hey, dick.' "

Mir has other ways to keep himself humble.

"I kept a normal job, and I felt it kept me grounded," he said. "Now I realize it's my family that keeps me grounded."

Some moments from his past also help in that respect.

While Mir is on an upswing right now, it wasn't long ago that his career was in shambles.

After winning eight of his first nine professional fights and becoming the UFC heavyweight champion with a brutal submission of Tim Sylvia at just 25 years old, Mir saw his life change dramatically.

He was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident in Las Vegas and was told by two doctors that he would never fight again.

Mir returned to the Octagon after more than a year and a half but didn't look like the same fighter.

He lost two of his first three fights after the comeback, culminating in a 1:09 thrashing at the hands of Brandon Vera in November 2006.

He finally looked like the old Frank Mir when he quickly disposed of Antoni Hardonk. Then Mir got back on top by beating Lesnar and Nogueira last year.

The struggles have helped Mir stay focused on remaining at the top of his game.

"A lot of fighters, when they get to the top of the mountain, the reason they can't (stay there) is because they don't have enough humility about themselves. I wish I could say that I got that on my own, but I had to be really humble after the wreck," he said. "My performances kind of sucked. I've kind of just stuck with that humility and said, 'You know what? If I get my ass kicked every day in the gym, that means I'm learning.' "

What he learned from his first matchup with Lesnar might help him even more Saturday night.

"An advantage that I didn't have last time is I didn't know what it would feel like to be in there with him. Now I know what it feels like," Mir said. "Could he be that much stronger? How much stronger could he possibly get? Even world-class athletes, if they add 1 or 2 percent strength level, that's a great achievement. I have a pretty good idea what's going to happen in the fight."

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.