Bella
Mir says her mother was simply overwhelmed following her loss
on
Dana White's Contender Series.

Mir (4-1) was a -6000 favorite, the biggest in DWCS history, going
into her fight against Alex
Apodaca (5-1) on
Week 3 of Season 10. However, Apodaca earned a closely
contested unanimous decision win over Mir in one of the biggest
upsets ever to earn an
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.

Mir's mother, Jennifer Mir, lashed out at Apodaca and the judges
over social media following her daughter's loss. Jennifer later
apologized to everyone while saying that her reaction was in
defense of the hate Bella was facing on social media after the
loss.

Bella Mir says emotions and drinking fueled Jennifer Mir's
reaction to Alex Apodaca loss

Addressing her mother's comments, Bella says that it was just her
protective instinct. Bella further jokes that her mother made it
slightly easier by diverting all the hate onto herself.

“My mom commenting on stuff obviously didn't really help the
situation, but she honestly kind of took the fire off of me,†Bella
told Ariel Helwani. “Everyone started hating on her more than
hating on me. It's crazy. It's like, ‘Mom, you literally protect me
in every situation I've ever lived in and you literally protected
me more in this one.' I don't even know how she could have done
that, but she did.â€

According to Bella, it was just her mother being overwhelmed by
emotions, which were fueled by alcohol.

“I think it was just the heat of the moment,†Bella added. “My mom
is very emotional… And obviously drinking that night didn't
really help. I think she was just raging out. She obviously
apologized to everyone and admitted that she made a mistake and
that's the best anyone can do after making a mistake: own up to
it.â€

Bella Mir
addresses her mom's social media comments after her Contender
Series loss:

“My mom commenting on stuff obviously didn't really help the
situation, but she honestly kind of took the fire off of me.

It's crazy. It's like, ‘Mom, you literally protect me in every…
pic.twitter.com/Rej2kiZ1iJ

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
September 1, 2026

Gabriel
Lourenco claims he was confident about a knockout win after
studying tape on his
Dana White's Contender Series opponent.

Lourenco (8-1) took on Charlie
Cleveland (6-2) in a heavyweight matchup on
Week 4 of DWCS 2026. Lourenco took hardly over two minutes to
drop his opponent with a right hand before dropping vicious
hammer-fists to secure a stoppage win. The 26-year-old earned an

Ultimate Fighting Championship contract for his first-round
knockout.

Gabriel Lourenco explains the flaw he spotted before his
first-round knockout

Lourenco had predicted a first-round knockout victory ahead of his
DWCS appearance. “Black Mamba†credits his
Chute Boxe coach, Luciano
Ferreira, also known as “Mutante,†for his opponent analysis.
Lourenco had observed that Cleveland never tucked his chin, making
a knockout inevitable at some point.

“We had been studying him throughout,†Lourenco said in his
post-fight interview. “Coach Luciano ‘Mutante' is right here… We
always knew his head was held high; we knew that at one point [my
right hand] was gonna go in… Representing Luciano, representing
Chute Boxe will be honor. I want more knockouts like this.â€

Lourenco ultimately won a contract for his knockout win.

RIGHT HAND HITS HOME ðŸ 

Gabriel Lorenco gets the TKO in R1 for a huge win!

[ #DWCS
| LIVE on @ParamountPlus
] pic.twitter.com/IVoLAMmJzz

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
September 1, 2026

Dan
Hooker doesn't mind welcoming newcomers to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship if he's compensated
accordingly.

Hooker (24-14) enters enemy territory to take on promotional
debutant Salahdine
Parnasse (23-2) at
UFC Paris on Sept. 5. “The Hangman†recently revealed that his
fight purse for his upcoming bout against the French star is the
“biggest payday†of his career so far.

Dan Hooker discusses his career-high payday for Salahdine
Parnasse at UFC Paris

The Kiwi is no stranger to accepting matchups others usually avoid,
be it short-notice bouts or welcoming fighters into the UFC, as he
did with Michael
Chandler. Hooker jokes that he would even fight former UFC
heavyweight champion Francis
Ngannou for the right purse.

“I'd fight Francis Ngannou for the amount of money they are
paying,†Hooker told RMC Sport Combat. “So, they give me this kind
of stepper on the scale with the same weight as me… Biggest payday
of my career for sure.â€

Notably, in a previous interview, Hooker claimed that he's also
open to welcoming Usman
Nurmagomedov, currently the most sought-after free agent in
mixed martial arts, to the UFC.

🤑 Dan Hooker :
“C'est la plus grosse paye de ma carrière !â€

📺 J-4 avant l’UFC Paris sur RMC Sport 1. pic.twitter.com/o87omvAtrt

— RMC Sport Combat (@RMCSportCombat)
September 1, 2026