Alex Apodaca Shocks World at DWCS 89 Tuesday Night

Alex Apodaca (4-1 MMA, 1-0 DWCS) heard just about everything in the final days leading up to her Tuesday night contest on DWCS 89 against Bella Mir (4-1 MMA, 0-1 DWCS,) including a lack of faith from the oddsmakers. Going into the DWCS 89 main event, Bella Mir, the daughter of MMA legend Frank Mir, was a -6000 favorite on the moneyline.

Mir was the largest favorite in the 10-year history of Contender Series. Alex Apodaca was a +1200 underdog when odds closed for the main event on Tuesday evening. While a number of people tuned in thinking they were going to see a convincing win by Bella Mir, Alex Apodaca wasn't content with just sharing the cage space with Mir on Tuesday.

Right from the command to fight, Bella Mir scored with a series of left-handed punches, but Alex Apodaca counterstruck with a left hand of her own. Although Mir tried to put Alex Apodaca in a back clinch, her defense proved strong in the early going of the three-round fight, forcing Bella Mir to mix up her offensive attacks before she absorbed a kick to the calf late in the first round.

Alex Apodaca Grabs Momentum of DWCS 89 Main Event

As the first round of a scheduled three neared its end, Alex Apodaca landed a flurry of ground and pound shots, spelling the beginning of what would prove to be an upset. About 30 seconds into round two, Apodaca's ground defense was on display again when she halted a takedown effort from Bella Mir.

A feint takedown was also met with resistance by Alex Apodaca before the two competitors exchanged strikes. By the later portions of the second round of the contest, Apodaca outpaced Mir by a 17-12 margin in terms of significant strikes landed, with Apodaca bloodying Mir's nose in the process, leading to comments about Mir's ground game from analyst Michael Bisping on the telecast. 

"Mixed martial arts: It's a different beast when you can throw punches and kicks," said Bisping. "Wrestling is not the same. We've seen jiu-jitsu world champions set foot in the Octagon, like Marcus Buchecha, one of the best grapplers that has ever lived, and he struggled."

Alex Apodaca Completes Surprising Upset

When the third round began, the live betting odds for the main event shifted in Apodaca's favor, only for them to revert back to Bella Mir's column moments later. Upon absorbing a front kick to her stomach, Bella Mir attempted to flip the script with a takedown before Apodaca grabbed hold of Mir's ankle, landing left-handed punches to the head on the ground.

By the two-minute mark of round three, Bella Mir was 1-for-6 on completed takedowns and the control of the fight was firmly in the favor of Alex Apodaca. While Bella Mir took Alex Apodaca's back to make a late effort at a submission, it would be all for naught.

For the one and only time on DWCS 89, a fight would go to the judges' scorecards. Apodaca won by way of unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after 15 minutes.

Dana White Welcomes Alex Apodaca to UFC

Bella Mir's loss to Alex Apodaca was the first setback of her professional MMA career. At the end of the event, UFC CEO Dana White announced the recepients of a contract to be part of the active roster of the promotion. 

"I'm very proud of myself in that in 10 years of doing this, I have never had any bias," White began. "I don't know anything about anybody coming in. I was overly biased on this fight."

In spite of Dana White working closely with Bella Mir throughout the years, the UFC CEO cited Michael Bisping's commentary in his final decision.

"Bisping said when you were walking in, 'She might be a 6000-to-1 underdog,'", White recalled. "He said, 'But you know what experience she has that Bella doesn't? Deep water. Bella's never been in the deep water, Alex has, and I think that's a factor in this fight.' Bisping nailed it on the head."