UFC Legend’s Daughter Bella Mir Fires Back at Haters After DWCS Loss: “Nothing They Say Is New”
Bella Mir has hit back at critics following her DWCS loss, making it clear that the hate she’s receiving is nothing new and won’t stop her from moving forward.
Alex Apodaca pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Dana White's Contender Series history, beating Bella Mir on August 25, 2026. Mir, Frank Mir's 23-year-old daughter, came in as a massive favorite at -6000 but couldn't get it done. Apodaca shut down Mir's wrestling for the entire bantamweight fight and did enough to win all three scorecards, 29-28. The win also earned him a UFC contract. Mir took heavy backlash and a wave of hate comments after the loss, partly because her dad is a heavyweight legend. She says none of it bothers her.
Bella Mir Shrugs Off Hate Comments After DWCS Defeat
Mir says the hate that followed the loss hasn't rattled her. She called her mental strength the best thing she has ever developed and said nothing could break her. As a woman in combat sports, she has spent her whole life hearing from men and others that she can't fight, so none of the comments are new to her. No one has said anything she hasn't already heard.
She stated, “I think my mental is the strongest suit out of like any skill I’ve ever developed. I think like nothing could break me. I'm a girl in combat sports. You think I've never dealt with men and all these people in my life who tell me I can't fight?… No one has said something I haven't heard before.”
After the event, White admitted he had been rooting for Mir. He said he has followed her career and helped guide it for more than four years. He had even advised her to wrestle in college before moving to MMA full-time. However, Mir suffered a shocking loss in what became one of the biggest upsets in DWCS history.
Bella Mir Reveals Her Biggest Regret After DWCS Loss
Mir says she wishes she had kept up her forward pressure against Apodaca. She can't explain why she spent so much of the fight backing up, since that isn't how she normally fights or competes at anything. In her words, “I wish I had kept my forward pressure. I don't know why I was backing up the whole time. That's not usually how I fight or compete in anything.”
Mir says the UFC simply wanted her to get more experience in the cage. A lot of her fights ended in the first round, so she hasn't had much time to settle into longer bouts. In her view, more cage time and more fight time is the key to fixing what went wrong against Apodaca. She wants to stay active and fight as often as she can. Her next fight is already in the works, and she is looking at the end of January.
