MMA

No loss has ever defined me’: Bella Mir responds to stunning upset at DWCS

Published

1 month ago

August 27, 2026

'No loss has ever defined me’: Bella Mir responds to stunning upset at DWCS

Bella
Mir is taking her first professional mixed martial arts loss
well.

Mir, the daughter of former
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Frank Mir, was
one of the most highly touted prospects going into her
Dana White's Contender Series clash against Alex
Apodaca. She was a -6000 favorite, the biggest in DWCS history,
ahead of the fight.

However, Apodaca edged out a hard-fought unanimous decision over
Mir in the biggest upset in DWCS history. The latter has now taken
to social media to address her defeat.

Bella Mir vows to rebound after Alex Apodaca hands her first
professional MMA defeat

Mir (4-1) has since issued her first statement in the aftermath of
her first professional MMA loss. She says that this is not the
first time she has handled a defeat, albeit this was under the
biggest spotlight. Mir vows to bounce back stronger, as she has
from all of her previous setbacks.

â€œI've lost so many times,â€ Mir wrote on Instagram. â€œBig or small,
each loss carries me into a different mindset and learning
experience to be a better athlete. I have overcome every single
obstacle into my life and I will overcome this one. Now it's just a
bit different that this loss is more famous than my other ones.
Thank you so much to everyone sending me love and encouragement.
And I promise to all of you that it takes way more than hate and 1
single loss in my MMA career to break me. I want to thank my team,
my family, my fans and Dana for getting me here and further. I also
want to thank Alex for taking this fight; all respect to her. Every
time I lose, I come back and win something bigger and better. No
loss has ever defined me, and neither will this one. And how cool
is it to do what I love on such a big platform. Literally living my
dream!! Next Best Thing.â€

Mir won a Division I National championship in wrestling at North
Central College last year, along with two wins at UFC BJJ. Ahead of
her DWCS loss, Mir had said that she wanted to be champion across
multiple sports, eyeing UFC and Zuffa Boxing titles as well.

MMA

Dustin Poirier admits he helped teammate cheat scale to make weight

Published

3 hours ago

October 6, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Dustin Poirier admits he helped teammate cheat scale to make weight

Dustin
Poirier will do whatever it takes to help his teammates.

Poirier recently recalled an incident in which he helped a teammate
make weight illegally. Poirier's friend was over the weight limit
for a fight in Mississippi, and the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship interim titleholder resorted to
manipulating the scale to help him.

Dustin Poirier details how he lifted an overweight teammate
during a Mississippi weigh-in

Fighters shed every bit of clothing and stand behind a towel when
they're close to the weight limit. Poirier stood behind the towel
with his teammate while everyone else was on the other side. â€œThe
Diamondâ€ claims he slightly lifted his friend so that he made
weight.

â€œOne time one of my buddies was fighting in Mississippi,â€ Poirier
said on the â€œDeep Watersâ€ podcast. â€œAnd they had the towel out, he
was naked, he was over [the weight limit]. I was behind the towel
with him. Everybody was in front. I grabbed a handful of hairy man
*ss cheeks and I lifted him up a little bit, got him on
weight.â€

Poirier (30-10) hung up his gloves after losing to Max
Holloway last year. He has since admitted that he misses
fighting and hasn't entirely ruled out a return.

Don’t say that @DustinPoirier doesn’t help
out his teammates ðŸ¤£ [ Deep Waters | LIVE NOW
https://t.co/xUDYk5Yr7K ] https://t.co/pSaLFqM3Hk

â€” UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
October 5, 2026

MMA

Dustin Poirier admits he helped teammate cheat scale to make weight

Published

3 hours ago

October 6, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Dustin
Poirier will do whatever it takes to help his teammates.

Dustin Poirier details how he lifted an overweight teammate
during a Mississippi weigh-in

Poirier (30-10) hung up his gloves after losing to Max
Holloway last year. He has since admitted that he misses
fighting and hasn't entirely ruled out a return.

Don’t say that @DustinPoirier doesn’t help
out his teammates ðŸ¤£ [ Deep Waters | LIVE NOW
https://t.co/xUDYk5Yr7K ] https://t.co/pSaLFqM3Hk

â€” UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
October 5, 2026

MMA

Zabit Magomedsharipov signs with RAF, faces fellow UFC vet in Abu Dhabi

Published

15 hours ago

October 6, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

Zabit Magomedsharipov signs with RAF, faces fellow UFC vet in Abu Dhabi

Zabit Magomedsharipov is heading to the wrestling mats.

Promotional officials confirmed to MMA Fighting that Magomedsharipov is set to face fellow UFC featherweight veteran Giga Chikadze at RAF Abu Dhabi. The event takes place Nov. 14 at Etihad Arena.

Magomedsharipov had his final MMA fight nearly seven years ago, defeating Calvin Kattar in the main event of UFC Moscow in November 2019. The 35-year-old went 6-0 during his UFC run, including a victory over Jeremy Stephens, along with a trio of stoppage wins.

Chikadze is a 13-fight UFC veteran who began his promotional run with seven straight wins before running into Kattar in the main event of UFC Vegas 46 in January 2022, losing a lopsided unanimous decision in his first UFC main event. Since then, â€œNinjaâ€ picked up a win against Alex Caceres, but has since dropped his past four octagon appearances.

Additionally, Jordan Burroughs opponent for the event is set as he'll face Azamat Nurykau from their classic matchup during the 2019 world championships â€” which Burroughs won in dramatic fashion.

RAF Abu Dhabi is headlined by a cruiserweight crossover championship match between Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev.