Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir reiterated his intention to have one last fight alongside his daughter, Bella Mir, on a United Fight League (UFL) card scheduled for December.
The news came during a break in the action at Saturday’s United Fight League 2 event, which streamed live and free on Rumble.
Mir, who serves as UFL’s color commentator, expressed his immense pride in his daughter’s accomplishments during Saturday’s broadcast.
“I’m extremely proud of my daughter,” Mir said. “I think everybody wants their children to find something that is productive and beneficial in their life that they can draw from, and wrestling [and martial arts] has done that for her.”
Frank Mir Retirement Update
Frank and Bella originally alluded to August’s UFL event as a potential target for Frank’s retirement fight and Bella’s return to MMA. However, with Bella, a Division I wrestler at the University of Iowa, securing a spot on the junior world team at 68 kilograms (150 pounds), plans temporarily changed before Frank ultimately decided to push his retirement back to the end of the year.
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Bella Mir pins her way to a first place finish at the U20 Women's National Championships, qualifying her for U20 World Championships this summer!#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/BtTWZkCslD
— Iowa Women's Wrestling (@IowaW_Wrestling) April 16, 2023
“I probably should have planned on her winning,” Mir admitted. “For her to go in and win the tournament, and then jumping in to compete on the world stage in Poland, obviously our fighting together took a back seat. I thought, ‘Alright, I have one more fight left. I can do this by myself and fight separately, or do I postpone it by a couple of months to where maybe we can line it up and fight together.’ Right now, that’s the plan: to postpone a little bit and maybe do it in December.”
Frank and Bella are looking to be the first parent and child to compete on the same MMA card together, but they could have some competition. UFL founder Harrison Rogers joined the broadcast to detail another surprising revelation: Rampage Jackson, another legendary figure in MMA and former UFC champion, expressed a desire for him and his son, Raja Jackson, to also compete on the same UFL card in December. Raja notably won his MMA debut on Saturday night, knocking out Hastings McMillan in the first round.
If these plans come to fruition, it could potentially create an unprecedented night in the history of the sport.
An Unprecedented Night in the Making
The prospect of the Mirs and Jacksons fighting together on the same card brings a unique blend of family ties and combat sports to the forefront. Father-daughter duos competing in professional sports are a rarity, and would be uncharted waters in a discipline as demanding and unforgiving as MMA where longevity is never guaranteed.
Details will likely emerge in the coming months regarding the UFL’s December show, and the potential for a night that could go down in MMA lore with several first-time UFL champions also likely to be crowned that night. Opponents and location are to be determined, though it is possible Mir and Jackson could fight one another in what would be an epic farewell to both men.
UFL founder Rogers also announced on the broadcast that the promotion will be returning to Arizona for United Fight League 3 in August.
