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Q&A with Tuff-N-Uff fighter Larry Mir

Cousin of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir takes on Chris Barden

Larry Mir

Ray Kasprowicz

Larry Mir has his hand raised after defeating Samuel Varrin at Tuff-N-Uff on May 30th, 2009.

Amateur MMA fighter Larry Mir, cousin of UFC fighter Frank Mir, will be taking his 2-1 record into the ring against Chris Barden at the Tuff-N-Uff: MTX Fight Night III at the Riviera on Friday night. Mir will share the fight card with another fighter who has fighting in his family tree, Ryan Couture, son of UFC legend Randy Couture.

Mir, who usually walks around at about 170 lbs., will be fighting in the 145 lb. division and has been keeping to a strict diet during his training camp to help him safely shed a few pounds and still keep his strength up for his fight. His head coach Richard Vadnais and his uncle Frank Mir Sr. have been working with him on his ground game and stand up while the fighter himself has worked on improving his mental game going into this battle.

What was it like having to cut weight and diet over the holiday season?

It was horrible. It was absolutely horrible. I did sneak in some Thai food on Christmas but I ended up paying for it at the gym. To tell you the truth, the only thing I can say I dislike about fighting and training for a fight and that is the weight cut and the fasting. I’ve seen a lot of guys before I started fighting just kill themselves and have nothing left for the fight and I told myself I was never going to be one of those guys. I want to make sure I’m as close to 100 percent for the fight.

Have you focused on anything in particular with this training camp?

We’ve kept the training camp basically the same. I’ve personally focused more on my mental state before the fight. This last fight I put a lot of pressure on myself. The last card I was on was the November 17 card in Mesquite. I was actually the main event for that fight and the whole night I hadn’t really thought about being the main event. To me I was just the last fight. I made the mistake of doing some interviews right before the fight and I was asked, “So how do you feel about being the main event tonight?” and I really hadn’t thought about that yet so I put a lot of pressure on myself. I lost that fight because I mentally broke down. It wasn’t that my opponent was better than me; I just didn’t follow my mental game plan.

Where do you train here in town?

Right now I’m training at a gym in the bottom of Red Rock Casino, in the executive offices. It’s a UFC gym and I’m able to train there because of Frank. My head coach, Richard Vadnais, runs that gym. Frank is opening up a gym at the end of this month I believe and that will be my home gym as soon as that gets going.

Do you ever train with your cousin Frank?

No, Frank and I do our separate things. Usually we both have training camps at the same time and I feel it’s selfish of me to ask him to help me train when he’s training. His fights are worth so much more than my amateur fights so I feel selfish asking him for his time during those periods. A couple of times he’s jumped in to spar with me and work on technique. Obviously we don’t go hard or he’d kill me. The hardest I have ever been hit though was by my cousin.

In previous interviews everyone always asks you if the Mir last name makes things any different for you in the sport? How do you feel about that?

Sometimes I wish my last name was different because then people wouldn’t expect me to be this stud that Frank is. They expect me to go out and submit a guy in two seconds. Having the last name has also opened up a lot of doors for me and being able to train at the Red Rock gym where a lot of UFC fighters train. I used to put a lot of pressure on myself because of the name. Frank told me something before the last fight in Mesquite, “the only pressure you should be feeling is the pressure you put on yourself.” It clicked in my head at that moment. But it is kind of fun to be able to say I’m Frank Mir’s cousin though.

When did you start training in mixed martial arts?

It’s almost been three years now that I’ve been training. I grew up in the karate schools with my cousin and my uncle and when we got older I strayed off into being a knucklehead and doing other things and Frankie stayed in the gym and trained. I moved out to Florida in 1998 to go to college there but things didn’t work out and when I came back I just started hanging around the gym because that’s where my family was. One day Frank got me on the mat during practice and realized I was pretty decent at it. Just one day rolling around on the mat turned into every day going to train and spar. At first I just did it to hang around my cousin and then recently in the past year I feel like it’s part of my life now. I really feel like I have the fighter’s spirit in me.

Do you plan on going pro and if so, do you have a timeline for that?

I have no timeline set but that is my main goal. I want to have at least one pro fight. I am a lot older than the guys who are starting out. I’m going to be 30 in April so I got an extremely late start.

How do you balance training with your day job at the TV station?

I’m a director/technical director for the p.m. shows at ABC 13. My supervisors are really understanding of the fact that I’m trying to pursue this as a career. When I need a day off for the fight, they are very accommodating. It is tough though, working full time and trying to train full time. It’s just what my life is right now and I don’t think I would trade it in for anything.

Since you’ve been so diligent with your training camp diet, do you know what your first meal is going to be once the fight is behind you?

Del Taco #8 with steak, no tomato.

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