Frank Mir had a legendary UFC career and while daughter Bella would love to follow in his footsteps, she's also hoping to avoid some of the same pitfalls.
MMA
Daughter of UFC legend wants to avoid taking same damage as father: ‘His brain is not good today’
Published
2 months agoon
Bella Mir attempted to move one step closer to a UFC contract in her recent Dana White's Contender Series appearance, but she was on the wrong end of a massive upset as she lost a decision to Alex Apodaca. Still just 23 years old, Mir is already over her first MMA loss, which was suffered in her fifth pro fight—just like her father.
The similarities between the two were brought to Mir's attention by a social media post that pointed out how both Bella and Frank won their first fight by decision, their next three by first-round submission, and then lost their fifth. While Mir aims to win a UFC title someday like Frank, she's not planning to take the same kind of damage he endured over an 18-year career.
“I didn't know that until I watched someone on a video post on Instagram and they were talking about [our similarities] and I was like, that is so weird,†Mir told The Ariel Helwani Show. “I hope that we don't have the exact career all the way through because I want to fight for a long time and not have so much brain damage.â€
When Frank dethroned Tim Sylvia to become UFC heavyweight champion, he was 25 years old, two years older than Mir is now. Frank's momentum was stalled by a motorcycle injury that forced him to relinquish his title, but he eventually battled back to capture an interim title in 2008 and competed for the undisputed title two more times.
He retired in 2019 with a 19-13 record, with 10 of those 13 losses coming by way of knockout. Mir has seen firsthand how those defeats have taken their toll on Frank.
“He's been in so many wars before, his brain is not good today,†Mir said. “I feel like it's really been catching up to him and I'd like to try to get fast finishes and not have wars like that, like I just did in that last fight. Obviously, if I have to I will. … I don't know if I want to have 32 fights.â€
“He's doing good, but he's had so many surgeries,†she added. “His body is so beat up. He's had his neck fused, he's had his lower back fused, he's had his hip replacement, his knee replacement. Both his labrums in his shoulders are completely gone, that's why I said I did not want to have his career. I want to be able to not have that many surgeries and function afterwards completely normal. There's times where he's, like, needing a cane because he can't walk that much, so it's just his body's beat up.â€
A collegiate wrestling standout—Mir won an NCAA Division-I title for North Central College this past March—Mir is optimistic she can take care of her body even as she continues to pursue her dream of competing at the Olympics and becoming a UFC star.
Mir will be tied inextricably to Frank throughout her combat sports journey, but it was her mother Jennifer who made headlines following Mir's Contender Series loss. Jennifer went on a rampage on social media, criticizing Apodaca, later deleting her comments and issuing an apology. Mir is used to facing extra scrutiny due to her family name and joked that her mother actually drew some of the attention away from her for once.
“Honestly, the hate after the fight, it didn't surprise me at all, and then my mom commenting about stuff, that didn't really help the situation,†Mir said. “But she honestly kind of took the fire off of me. Everyone started hating on her more than they were hating on me, so it's crazy, it's like, ‘Mom, you literally protect me in every situation I've ever lived in. Literally, you protected me more in this one.' I don't know how you could have done that, but she did.
“I think it just took the best of her, and then drinking that night, that didn't really help. So I don't think she had any kind of mission, she was just raging out. She obviously apologized to everyone. She admitted that she made a mistake and that's the best that anyone can do is owning up to it, so that was just a crazy situation.â€
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MMA
Arman Tsarukyan sets one condition for fighting Alexander Volkanovski
Published
15 hours agoon
November 3, 2026
Tsarukyan is open to fighting Alexander
Volkanovski, provided
Ultimate Fighting Championship gold is at stake.
Volkanovski (29-4) defended the featherweight title with a
technical knockout victory over Movsar
Evloev at
UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi before expressing interest in returning to
lightweight. With champion Justin
Gaethje uncertain about his future, Volkanovski offered to face
Tsarukyan (24-3) for the vacant title if Gaethje retires.
Arman Tsarukyan reminds Alexander Volkanovski how Islam
Makhachev rematch ended
Tsarukyan said the championship matters more to him than the
opponent.
“I'm ready for everyone,†Tsarukyan told Yavuz Saynomo. “For me, it
doesn't matter who I'm gonna fight; I just want to fight for the
title.â€
Volkanovski has expressed confidence that he can counter
Tsarukyan's wrestling and avoid being held down. Tsarukyan
responded by recalling the Australian's knockout loss to Islam
Makhachev.
“He said Islam Makhachev cannot knock him out, too,†Tsarukyan
added.
Volkanovski has twice challenged Makhachev for the lightweight
championship. He lost their first meeting by unanimous decision
before Makhachev finished their rematch with a head kick and
follow-up punches.
Tsarukyan remains confident that his next bout will be for the
title. If Gaethje retires, “The Batman†expects to compete for the
vacant belt.
“I have a title fight next,†Tsarukyan reiterated. “Either Justin
Gaethje. If he is retired, someone else.â€
MMA
Dan Hooker blames Charles Oliveira, UFC for tarnishing ‘BMF’ title: ‘He killed it’
Published
16 hours agoon
November 3, 2026
Dan Hooker would like to see the whole ‘BMF' championship put to rest for now.
The symbolic title is up for grabs again on Dec. 12 at UFC 335, when champion Charles Oliveira faces Diego Lopes in the main event. Oliveira won the belt with a dominant decision win over Max Holloway at UFC 326, but received criticism for his grappling-heavy performance, which was considered to be against the spirit of the BMF belt.
Hooker agrees that Oliveira, and his newly won title, lost some luster that night.
“It was cool for a bit and then he kind of made it not cool,†Hooker told Submission Radio. “I think he killed it.â€
The BMF championship was innovated by former UFC star Nate Diaz, who cut a fiery promo after a win at UFC 241 that led to he and Jorge Masvidal fighting to become the inaugural titleholder at UFC 244, where Masvidal defeated Diaz. Justin Gaethje later defeated Dustin Poirier for a vacant title, with Holloway subsequently claiming the belt with an all-time great performance at UFC 300.
Hooker believes the promotion has strayed far from the original purpose of the title.
“You know where they f*cked it up?†Hooker said. “They should have kept it like Nate Diaz, Masvidal kind of shit. They completely f*cked it when they were like – They had badass motherf*ckers fighting for it like that, but then it should be the guys that want to throw down and just talk shit as well. That was kind of like me, Bobby Green, could lose 20 times and he's still a BMF contender. Then they had Max do it, and he's like the nicest guy in the f*cking world.
“Talk shit. Say you're going to knock the other guy's head off, that was like our belt. That was the guys whose careers are a f*cking mess. ‘Gamebred' was hot and cold for a minute, Nate Diaz, all our records are a f*cking mess. It's going to be a lot harder for us to get our hands on the nice, shiny, clean one. That's what I'm saying, they let too many nice guys have a crack.â€
That said, Hooker looks forward to the Oliveira vs. Lopes matchup, even if the BMF belt's involvement feels perfunctory. Hooker fights Brian Ortega at UFC Qatar on Nov. 21, and if both he and Lopes are victorious, he sees a scenario where he challenges Lopes for the title next.
“For some reason, they're adamant on this BMF belt sticking around and just having another belt to put up for grabs, but yeah, I like that fight,†Hooker said. “I feel like Diego Lopes is a strong contender for that. As he says, he doesn't feel like he's going to get another crack at Volk. He doesn't feel like it's just around the corner, so I like the fight, definitely.â€
“That's why I wanted this fight [vs. Ortega],†Hooker continued. “I feel like I can beat Brian Ortega, but now, Diego Lopes beating Charles Oliveira, I feel like that's a much bigger ask. But yeah, I like that fight, for sure.â€
MMA
Report: Jacqueline Cavalcanti vs. Michelle Montague postponed to UFC 335 on Dec. 12
Published
1 day agoon
November 2, 2026
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