Frank Mir, former UFC heavyweight champion and rival of Brock Lesnar, believes that many Brazilian jiu-jitsu BJJ practitioners are approaching their training incorrectly. Known for his technical grappling and record-setting submissions, Mir recently shared his views on the flaws he sees in how people train.
Frank Mir on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
“I don’t train to make people tap,” Mir said. “The ultimate goal is the choke. Submissions like armbars, kimuras, and leg locks are just tools. “Okay, this is in my way.” It’s kind of like scoring a touchdown in a game. It’s not over with, but I’m upping the score in my favor. I guess I kind of think of it like a boxer throwing a body punch. Hey man, if you fall down and the fight’s over, great. But that body punch is actually more meant to hurt you, disable you, and put things more in my favor.” This is the philosophy he used to submit several opponents int he UFC including Brock Lesnar.
Mir argues that focusing solely on making an opponent tap during training misses the bigger picture. “People tap in the gym all the time to things that don’t mean anything,” the multi-time opponent of Brock Lesnar explained. “To make them tap in a fight? There are things I’ll tap into in the gym just because they’re uncomfortable. If we’re outside by my car, my kids are there, and you’re in between me and them? I’m not tapping into that. That ain’t happening. Most people won’t. You know what I mean? That’s on them, though. That’s bad technique.”
Comparing Training to Standardized Tests
Mir compared the fixation on tapping to focusing on test scores in education, saying that measuring success in this way is misleading. “It’s like teaching kids to take a test rather than teaching them the subject,” he said. Frank Mir ha broken multiple limbs in the octagon.
“It’s when you use the measuring stick as the actual test. For example, when they did No Child Left Behind, right? So we educated the kids, and they said, “Hey, we’re going to make sure the kids take this test. How well they do on the test is how well we’ll do for state or government funding to the school.” So what did teachers do? What humans do. They just taught the kids how to take the test. They weren’t really teaching them. They said, “Okay, well, we’ll just make you better at the test.”“
“It’s like, okay, so you’re good at the game, but for the sake of the game. You should be good at the game because it reinforces realistic life situations and systems. You’re not bench pressing yourself out of most situations in a fight.“
Mir believes this mindset is especially problematic in self-defense and compared it to NFL trials, he continued:
“That’s why, like, people watch the NFL Combine. How often do you see a guy, and they’ll show him on ESPN like, “This guy just ran the fastest for his position.” You never hear about him during the regular season ever again. That was his highlight, because he specialized to be good at the test.”
At 44, Mir still trains regularly, often with his wife, who is a purple belt in BJJ. “When I roll with her, it’s all about technique. I’m not using strength, just precision. It’s like a chess match,” he said. He also highlighted the value of jiu-jitsu for women, saying it teaches valuable skills for self-defense.
Technique Over Strength
Mir, who holds the record for the most submissions in UFC heavyweight history including one over Brock Lesnar, is a strong proponent of technique over raw strength. He pointed out that relying on strength alone is a common mistake. If your game is based on strength, it’s not going to work against someone bigger or more skilled, bad technique doesn’t hold up in real situations.
Submitted Brock Lesnar
Frank Mir, who famously submitted Brock Lesnar with a kneebar and broke Tim Sylvia’s arm with an armbar, says his philosophy extends beyond the gym or competition. “But the ego of not protecting yourself, guys—just let it go. I’m like, “No, that reinforces that they’re an idiot.” This is a game or something. If you’re not tapping, I’m assuming that means my move isn’t very good because I’m not breaking something. You know what I mean? Like, if you tap, it means you’re protecting your limb, and you’re reinforcing that I have good technique.”
“But if you’re just there to hurt people and make them tap, it’s like… yeah, but right now we all have to go to work tomorrow. There’s a different mentality. I want longevity.”
