Frank Mir: Rousey Makes It Hard to Tell My Daughter “No MMA”

Frank Mir spoke with MMAjunkie about being a father whose kids want to get into MMA and more. Check out the highlights:

On what he’s telling his kids about the sport: “(I could say) there’s not much of a living you could make at this lifestyle.”

But Rousey, according to Forbes, banked $6.5 million in fight pay and endorsements in a one-year period, so out the window that goes.

Bella isn’t the only one “gnawing at him,” as he put it, to strap on the four-ounce gloves. Mir’s son, fittingly named Cage, is also showing interest in MMA. Recently, MMAjunkie filmed the ex-champ giving a private lesson for the two on striking.

On his conditions for his daughter Bella getting into MMA: “I’ve made it very clear to her that they go to private school; I’m very adamant that they go further (than me). I think every parent wants their kids to go father than they did. I graduated high school, but I never went to college. So that’s one thing I’m an advocate for, for my children to attend a four-year university and have that in their pocket as far as world experience. As long as they follow those rules I have with school and college, I’ll help them out. I’ll be in their corner. The minute they’re going to dive into professional fighting and they’re going to drop out and they’re going to put all their eggs in one basket, that’s when I’m going to have a problem…You can train and be a good martial artist and enjoy and do amateur fights, even do pro fights. (You) have a 9-to-5 job that you can do, and if you want to fight on the weekends, so be it.”

On Ronda Rousey’s influence on Bella’s desire to get into MMA: “Obviously, what Ronda’s done with the sport and how much more lucrative it’s become, and now that the UFC switched gears; there was a time when (White) wasn’t going to allow females in the UFC. Now, they’re showcased in main events. So my daughter is pointing at this going, ‘Hey, dad.’ I think I had to sit back and go, ‘OK, I see it, too,’ so I’ll relax a little.”