Bella Mir, the daughter of former multiple-time UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, entered week 3 of Dana White's Contender Series 10 on Tuesday as a heavy favorite to win. Instead, the 23-year-old suffered her first career defeat.
Mir headlined the fight card pitted against Alex Apodaca. Apodaca's takedown defense proved effective against the NCAA champion wrestler and was able to score a unanimous decision upset.
UFC CEO Dana White has known Mir for years and even advised her about her future paths not long ago. He has a close relationship with the multi-sport athlete and weighed in on her loss during the event's post-fight press conference.
"I was extremely biased coming into tonight. I've been close to her for over four years," White said. "Four years ago, she came to me and wanted to sort of map out her future. I'm the one that talked her into going to college, you know, and waiting, you know, getting a wrestling background in college, do some great things there, and then come here and, you know …"
Mir entered the Meta Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday with a 4-0 professional record. Apodaca was 3-1, but White believes Mir's inexperience played a role. She had only gone the distance once before while all of Apodaca's fights were settled on the scorecards.

#white #apodaca #champion #fight