Alex
Apodaca has little time to celebrate the biggest win of her
career.

Apodaca pulled off the biggest upset in
Dana White's Contender Series history on Aug. 25, earning an

Ultimate Fighting Championship contract after defeating heavily
favored Bella Mir
over three rounds. When asked how she plans to celebrate the major
victory, Apodaca said that she has a day job obligation scheduled
for the next morning.

Alex Apodaca plans to keep accounting job after upsetting Bella
Mir on DWCS

Despite beating Mir and pulling off the biggest upset in DWCS
history, the 32-year-old bantamweight won’t be stepping away from
her day job just yet. Apodaca revealed after the fight that she had
an early morning commitment at her accounting firm.

“I am gonna party my *ss off, but I have work in the morning. I
have a call at like 7:30 a.m.,†Apodaca said at the post-fight
presser following
Week 3 of DWCS Season 10.

Apodaca works full-time as a consultant at an accounting firm, a
career she plans to maintain despite signing with the UFC.

“I actually don't think I'm just gonna quit,†she added. “I think
I'm gonna keep doing it. I like using my brain, so I'm gonna keep
doing it.â€

Balancing the two careers has not always been easy, particularly
around fight camps and weight cuts, but Apodaca credited her
co-workers and bosses for supporting her MMA career.

“They've been very supportive. I have so much gratitude towards
them for that,†Apodaca said. “I'll be on video calls with a black
eye and they are totally just used to it now. It's the coolest
thing ever to have that amount of support from all the people in my
life, especially the folks I work for.â€

Alejandra
Lara has been suspended and fined by the Nevada Athletic
Commission after reportedly testing
positive for a cocaine metabolite.

The commission recently announced that Lara settled for a
nine-month suspension stemming from a positive test for
benzoylecgonine. She was also fined $412.50 and ordered to pay
$250.60 in legal fees.

Alejandra Lara reportedly tested positive for cocaine
metabolite benzoylecgonine

Lara will become eligible to return on Jan. 24, 2027. The
32-year-old Colombian reportedly tested positive in connection with
her April 24 bout at Tuff-N-Uff
153. Lara lost the fight to Jaleen Robledo via third-round
guillotine.

The defeat dropped Lara’s record to 12-10 and she's gone 3-3 since
departing Bellator
in 2023.

Lara spent much of her Bellator tenure competing in the promotion’s
women’s flyweight division. She went 3-6 inside the organization
and challenged Ilima-Lei
Macfarlane for the Bellator women’s flyweight title in June
2018. Lara lost the bout via third-round armbar.

Merab
Dvalishvili has clarified that he has no bad blood with
Islam
Makhachev despite what the latter believes.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight titleholder
addressed recent comments from Makhachev after the welterweight
champ appeared to accuse Dvalishvili of being unhappy with his
success after he defended his title against Ian Garry at
UFC
330.

Merab Dvalishvili explains what really upset him after Islam
Makhachev’s UFC 330 win

Dvalishvili explained on social media that his frustration with
Makhachev’s victory at UFC 330 was directed at the latter’s team
bringing a Russian flag into the Octagon, rather than at the
champion himself.

“I like Islam Makhachev,†Dvalishvili wrote on X. “I think he's a
great and humble champion. I respect all the hard work he has put
into his career, I have nothing but respect for him. But when I saw
his team bring the Russian flag into the Octagon, I was upset. And
the reason I reacted that way is because, first during all five of
my UFC title fights, I was never allowed to bring my Georgian or
American flag into the cage.â€

Dvalishvili further clarified that his problem is with Russian
politics, rather than people from the country.

“Second reason for me, this is very personal because of what
Russian politics and the Russian government have done to my
country,†Dvalishvili added. “Russia occupies around 20% of
Georgia, and there has been a history of war, occupation, and
suffering against my Georgian people. Russia has also been
responsible for terrible violence in Chechnya, and they are still
killing people in Ukraine today. I also want to make one thing very
clear: I don't hate Russian people. I hate Russian politics and the
Russian government. My problem is with the government and its
actions, not with ordinary Russian people.â€

Dvalishvili also accused Russian media of portraying his comments
unfairly.

“The Russian media is always asking me provocative questions, but
they will never translate this video honestly or show what I'm
actually saying, because it doesn't fit the narrative they want to
create,†he concluded. “There is no freedom of speech and if you
protest anything in Russia you go to jail. This is facts.â€

This comes amid growing tension between Dvalishvili and the
Dagestani team, with Umar
Nurmagomedov claiming that their rivalry is personal.

I like Islam
Makhachev. I think he's a great and humble champion. I respect
all the hard work he has put into his career, I have nothing but
respect for him.
But when I saw his team bring the Russian flag into the Octagon, I
was upset. And the reason I reacted that way is… pic.twitter.com/sdUd8fsr97

— Merab “The Machine†Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil)
August 26, 2026