Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir suffered a first round TKO loss to Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Bellator 198.
Mir plans on competing in Bellator MMA again, but may have his next fight in the Absolute Championships Berkut (ACB) promotion.
“Bellator came to me, and they’re talking about October,” Mir said on Phone Booth Fighting. “I would like to get a fight in with the ACB before that, so I can just get more time in clocked under me – so I can get my timing back on for fighting. You can train as much as you want, but there’s nothing like the real thing. I had 40 seconds the past two years, so I need some more time, some more rounds.”
ACB's roster has boasted several familiar names, including Jesse Taylor, Thiago Silva, Nam Phan, Takeya Mizugaki, Artem Lobov, Mamed Khalidov, Bubba Jenkins, Marcin Held, Pat Healy, and many more.
The bout marked Mir’s first fight since a USADA suspension after his bout against Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 85. While Mir doesn’t know who he’ll fight next, one thing the competitor wants is another shot at Emelianenko.
“Hopefully next fight I’ll probably not take someone as dangerous as Fedor, probably get my feet a little bit underneath me,” Mir said. “Hopefully Fedor, after he goes through and has success and wins the tournament, maybe I can be his first title defense if I’ve strung together some wins.”
Emelianenko now moves onto fight Chael Sonnen in the semi-finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix.
