Frank Mir has had a share of ups-and-downs in his eight years as a professional fighter. During that span, Mir managed to win the UFC heavyweight belt, lose the heavyweight belt and blow out his knee in an unfortunate motorcycle accident. His rehabilitation and willingness to compete is something to be admired.

"After the Sacramento fight and catching that knee from Vera up the middle, I didn't consume myself with thinking, "Ok, I gotta get back on the wagon, I gotta train hard, I gotta get my title back," Mir told UFC.com. "That's like a guy who's preparing climb Mount Everest and he's just thinking about the peak. It's too far ahead. I basically just devoted myself tomorrow and what could I do to be a better fighter. In the Nogueira fight, that was just another boost of my confidence. It's giving me much more drive to excel as a martial artist."

Mir is now preparing for the rematch with Brock Lesnar only this time it will unify the UFC heavyweight title. In their first match-up, Lesnar fell victim to a knee-bar that forced him to tap out in the first round.

"I think Brock Lesnar and myself fighting to unify the belt is gonna be a very exciting fight," Mir said. "I think that's it's gonna represent a lot of things like how much does strength way into victory, how much does size play in, does it out-weight technique, skill and experience. I think that's the battle that will be going on in the octagon."

It's no secret that Mir won't be able out-wrestle Lesnar, however, his technique and experience outweigh that of the hefty heavyweight. Lesnar's wrestling background, athletic ability and stature have carried him to a UFC championship in just four professional fights, but Mir is still the only man to ever beat Lesnar, which should make for a very interesting match-up.

"Brock Lesnar does possess a great platform on the wrestling and is extremely strong obviously," Mir said. "If Lesnar thinks the tools he possessed in the last fight are gonna be adequate enough to win and thinks a take-down, stuff to my half-guard and throwing a bunch of rapid punches in succession is gonna win the fight; then the fans are gonna be gravely disappointed when he goes home with a quick submission."

Mir's made it clear he's not scared of Lesnar or his stand-up and thinks he has the advantage should the fight remain standing.

"He doesn't really throw shots and I think he'll improve that but his ground-and-pound is just annoying because he is a strong guy. I think that the stand-up is my advantage and the ground is my advantage. Instead of trying to shorten the gap that he has over me in wrestling, I just wanna make sure the stand-up and the ground is light years beyond whatever he can possibly improve upon. I can't wait to go out there and show how capable heavyweights are."

No matter how this fight ends, one thing is for sure, after the dust settles the UFC will finally have a unified heavyweight champion.