Frank Mir wants rematch with Javy Ayala to determine if he should continue fighting

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (18-13 MMA) is looking to book a rematch with Javy Ayala in order to determine his future in the fight game.

Mir suffered the first submission defeat of his storied mixed martial arts career to Ayala at Bellator 212 in Honolulu earlier this month.

The 39-year-old was forced to tapout to Javy after suffering a fracture to the alveolar ridge of his jaw.

The horrific injury actually occured while Frank Mir was without his mouthpiece. Because of that, the former UFC heavyweight champion wants another crack at Ayala before deciding to hang up his gloves for good.

“You start drawing questions whether you should still fight again, but then I have to start counting in how much did the mouthpiece create a factor into the outcome of the fight,” Frank Mir said on the latest edition of his “Phone Booth Fighting” podcast (transcirbed by MMAJunkie). “Obviously, it was a huge factor in the outcome.”

Frank Mir continued:

“I would actually like to have a rematch with Javy, reason being is because really he was a testing moment for me to feel if I should continue fighting or not,” Mir said. “He’s somebody that doesn’t have – obviously, he hits hard, but so does every other heavyweight. But he was picked as an opponent that was a very winnable fight – should be if I’m worthy of still fighting, and so then it’s really a crossroads for me.”

“Immediately after, I’m like, ‘Well, I lost. I guess it’s time to hang it up.’ But then going back and looking at it, knowing what I was going through and knowing that, ‘OK, well, I won the first round. Is it really time for me to hang it up?’ I think the only way to really answer that is to rematch with Javy Ayala again. If I come through short again and it doesn’t work out, then it is time to hang it up. If I can’t beat the Javy Ayalas, then I probably shouldn’t be fighting anymore.”

Frank Mir went on to suggest that he did not train as hard as he could have for his Bellator 212 fight with Javy Ayala.

However, the 39-year-old is not taking all of the blame for his performance and subsequent injury. Mir put the official who refereed his bout with Ayala on blast for failing to protect him.

“The referee kicked my ass worse than anybody here,” Mir stated. “He didn’t protect me at all!”

Frank Mir has now lost four fights in a row, and is 2-8 over his past 10 appearances overall.

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