Frank Mir accepts Todd Duffee's challenge, willing to help get his name out there

Because as the former heavyweight champ says, Todd's previous fights have failed to do so.

A few days ago, Frank Mir wasn't too keen on the idea of facing Todd Duffee, because fighting someone not ranked in the top 15 offered no upside for his own career.

But, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion seems to have changed his tune, as he recently told The Fight Corner (via The MMA Hour) that he backs down from no challenge and is willing to battle Duffee if UFC matchmakers have no one else lined up at the moment.

Though it should be noted that Frank still isn't overly impressed with Duffee's previous track record, which includes a quick knockout loss to Alistair Overeem and getting iced by a former cop who had a broken hand.

"I think Todd did a good job of getting his name out there. Obviously, career-wise, he's only fought one guy that would probably know who it is, and that's Alistair, who knocked him out in 19 seconds. The other fight that was of some note is the Russow fight. He did great in that fight, in fact I actually helped him train for it. He even broke Russow's arm, which Russow is a tough guy. He came back and was able to knock Todd out cold. That was disappointing. I mean, I understand what Todd is doing, I have no ill will, he's a young guy that's been in the UFC for a little while. He's out of the UFC, in the UFC, and he wants to make a name for himself. His fights themselves haven't garnered him that much recognition, so I guess he figures that if he talks a little bit on the Twitter and gets things going, that it will help. It did, I called up UFC and said, 'Hey, if you have nobody else for him to fight, if that's what you guys want, then I'm open.' I have never turned down a fight from anybody."

Talk about subtle.

Mir earned himself some more time inside the Octagon after knocking Antonio Silva clean out last month at UFC Fight Night 61 from Gigantinho Gymnasium in Porto Alegre, Brazil (video replay here). A much-needed victory that finally put an end to Mir's four-fight losing streak.

As for Duffee, he's been doing pretty good for himself as of late, winning three straight which includes two first-round knockout victories inside the eight-walled cage against Anthony Hamilton and Philip De Fries.

But, the hulking heavyweight has a bigger name in mind, one who is world renowned and has the resume and accolades many hope to achieve. In his view, Mir fits that bill perfectly and fortunately for him, the longtime veteran is more than willing to fill his dance card.

The ball is now in your court, Joe Silva.