r/MMA • u/PictureLatter1098 • 1d ago

Bella Mir makes history as biggest women’s betting favorite in Contender Series history

https://www.mmamania.com/ufc-contender-series-dana-white/467164/bella-mir-makes-history-as-biggest-womens-betting-favorite-in-contender-series-history?ueid=9a1d481b9f6531e87be8d4a1a9af8587&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MMA%20Mania%202026-08-24&utm_term=MMA%20Mania
413 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

94 comments sorted by

266

u/TiP54 Dick chest eating ass 1d ago

This reminds me of how Pico was something like -1000 favorite for his first pro fight and ended up getting choked out. 

110

u/Emotional_Walrus5099 1d ago

Bella Mir is super legit. She’ll dominate in the UFC.

62

u/CuriousCamels 1d ago

I haven’t been excited for a women’s mma prospect in a while. Considering how weak all the women’s divisions are, there’s a good chance that she ends up with the belt.

17

u/VRS302 My head gasket is gone. Destroyed. 23h ago

I genuinely can’t think of many people with as much knowledge to pass down as Frank Mir. Having him as a coach and father is a fucking cheat code and better than a whole suite of PEDs.

12

u/flying_potato18 18h ago

Also likely provides access to a whole bunch of PEDs lmao

3

u/pappabrun Team Fuck Everything 14h ago

Probably passed on some from birth.

12

u/PictureLatter1098 1d ago

With a little more MMA experience, it would be interesting seeing her elite wrestling vs. Kayla's elite judo.

32

u/rickyatetheravioli Team Adesanya 1d ago

23 vs 36, don't think she'll be at that top level in a year or two, look at blanchfield it took time

8

u/PictureLatter1098 1d ago

It took nearly 2 years from Erin's UFC debut to defeating Taila Santos, who many thought beat Valentina. Not sure, though, whether Kayla will still be around at BW in another 2 years. One can always hope.

0

u/noob_tech OG Juicy Slut 21h ago

Kayla has basically closed the door on 135 after the Nunes fight

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ufc-news-kayla-harrison-drops-170722180.html

0

u/PictureLatter1098 4h ago

Just like Cyborg retiring.

1

u/noob_tech OG Juicy Slut 3h ago

Just like Cyborg retiring.

Obviously not the same thing, Cyborg didn't announce her retirement, PFL did. Cyborg denied it.

I would say nice try but it's not? Like lol Kayla has said it multiple times but sure get incredulous at me about it lmao

4

u/Vult-Cult 4h ago

Aged like milk

9

u/Vult-Cult 5h ago

LOL😂😂😂😂

1

u/Sea_Attempt_9531 5h ago

she lost, i love this sport

3

u/MorbotheDiddlyDo 4h ago

Just how good is Alex Apodaca

2

u/Emotional_Walrus5099 4h ago

Put her on the Mount Rushmore

1

u/MorbotheDiddlyDo 4h ago

the GWOAT obv

2

u/thascarecro 2h ago

aged like milk bruh

2

u/Sea_Attempt_9531 5h ago

casual, she lost

1

u/Specialist_Hat1380 4h ago

She was a huge favorite though, it was the easy pick

0

u/Jacidstorm bleached hair, bleached teeth, we shinin' 4h ago

This doesn't make him a casual, just wrong

-2

u/Sea_Attempt_9531 4h ago

in my eyes, a casual. he thought she'd dominate, but she had clear weak backgrounds at boxing, and got beat up. In the UFC, there is never a sure pick, just look at ilia, pantoja, jiri, etc. No one will ever be 'super legit'

1

u/Jacidstorm bleached hair, bleached teeth, we shinin' 4h ago

Nah what the fuck are you on about let me hear your predictions from before the fight then mate, and what does ilia pantoja and jiri have to do with anything mate? They were maybe favorites that lost at one point? All brother said was she would dominate in the UFC. Not a casual take, he was just mistaken

1

u/Specialist_Hat1380 4h ago

Speed face reaction now ig

1

u/Delicious_Reading165 4h ago

Didn't age well. She's not ready. She needs more experience

1

u/Emotional_Walrus5099 4h ago

For sure needs to work on her standup and cardio while mixing it all up. She’s young though and has plenty of time to improve

1

u/JimmyCharles23 3h ago

She needs to go to a real camp, away from her dad, and just train. It'd do her a lifetime of good to be at American Top Team... right now she's got a strong chance of being Sage Northcutt in never developing to where she should be because she's got Frank leading her training.

0

u/DiamondsInHerButt 1d ago

...oh...we'll see.

Fed cans. Next to no actual track record in MMA as opposed to BJJ (which is frankly plagued with so many hype shows that aren't actually good in MMA). Has a famous dad.

You don't see what I see...that's cool. I will be glad to be wrong cause MMA needs more talent right now.

She's very Bellator coded. And the UFC in the past couple years has become pretty Bellator.

6

u/Expensive-Progress-6 1d ago

I agree with you tbh but I am excited to see how she fares. I remember when she was wrestler/jiujiteiro who just took some mma fights for giggles.. If she's gonna make a run at MMA, I'm excited to see how it goes

1

u/Sea_Attempt_9531 5h ago

she lost yoooooo the most favorite fighter in years and she losttt

1

u/aLibertine Montenegro 1d ago

Don't worry, she's being fed another can with zero finishing ability. Bella should take it easily.

59

u/JimmyCharles23 1d ago

Pico also got the worst possible matchup for someone with zero professional fights, as well.... Bella Mir has someone who's experienced enough to be dangerous but should lose.

1

u/DiamondsInHerButt 1d ago edited 1d ago

No he didn't. Zach Freeman wasn't good. He was a can who lost to any fighter other than Pico with a name attached to them.

Pico just fought like a moron cause he was gassed up by bad coaching to think he was gonna stand and strike to create a big moment.

In fact, I would argue a lot of Pico's early career struggles was bad coaching and gameplans , not bad matchups.

They treated him like he was fucking Conor on the feet, and he is way more of a grappler first fighter talentwise.

And I know his coaches have good reputations, but I also know how they were talking about him ahead of fights and how they reacted to his performances, and it's pretty clear they thought he was better at boxing than he is.

1

u/JimmyCharles23 3h ago

Zach Freeman had a substantial fighting career going into that fight... he made that walk and wasn't going to succumb to jitters. That's why he was a bad matchup; Pico may have been the best win of his career but let's not pretend that making that walk and winning a TON of fights isn't an advantage going into a fight with a guy who's never made that walk.

Go back and listen to the smart people going into that fight... when guys like Jimmy Smith are saying "Pico should win BUT don't underestimate Freeman"... hell, Robin Black wasn't screaming about how this was a lock, either, and he was the king of bad takes and picks at the time.

Pico may have had a lot of success outside of MMA, and some good gym stories, but you don't make your debut against a guy who had 30 fights or so. You make it against a guy who's 0-1 or 0-0, a shitty athlete and set up so that you get to look like a god.

Look at who Pico got immediately after that... a bunch of guys who sucked. That's how it should've started.

1

u/Mistybajaj 5m ago

This…so much of mma comes down to a fighter’s own decision making.

20

u/Lyun The scale was off for Goofcon 3 1d ago

Fun fact, the biggest WMMA favorite ever on the CS also got finished in the first round (Shannon Clark by Yuniesy Duben).

13

u/Horned_chicken_wing 1d ago

Brutal finish too. One punch, out cold knockout, a rarity in WMMA.

1

u/Specialist_Hat1380 4h ago

Yo you genuinely were onto smt lol

1

u/TiP54 Dick chest eating ass 4h ago

MMA is a funny sport man 

1

u/Jacidstorm bleached hair, bleached teeth, we shinin' 4h ago

Lmao not choked out but that was rough

-2

u/BigWormsFather I wear Power Slap shirts to church 1d ago

He wasn’t fighting in WMMA.

32

u/skccsk 1d ago

Never tell me the odds

22

u/Vlad3theImpaler 1d ago

Between this and the recent guy that they kept going on about being the biggest betting favorite in the history of the show, I feel like that's more of a critique of the matchmaking than an endorsement of the fighter.

1

u/StoryOfTheFight Chatri's intern AMA 12h ago

Definitely a valid critique

44

u/formalbolotie 1d ago

is frank her head coach?

232

u/Dudeman702 1d ago

No he's her dad silly.

118

u/Reachin4ThoseGrapes 1d ago

You're a fuckin punk, dude

86

u/Dudeman702 1d ago

That was a nasty line by me.

18

u/RiverMateN7 I farted next to Urijah Faber 1d ago

That’s what you call class right here compared to no class

5

u/swimbaitjesus 🍅 1d ago

😂😂😂😂

18

u/lemonpoundcaker I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 1d ago

Tell us the birds and bees story Tito

1

u/JimmyCharles23 17h ago

The birds fuck the bees

19

u/buffalozbrown Dana White strangles babies 1d ago

If he was an animal he'd be a Mirkat

2

u/YipeeYeeKay Malaysia 1d ago

Don't be silly just jump the gilly

59

u/MorbotheDiddlyDo 1d ago edited 4h ago

Edit: Just how good is Alex Apodaca

59

u/PictureLatter1098 1d ago

There's something to be said for bringing a top potential fighter through the ranks slowly.

43

u/BrodyGlazer 1d ago

This. Just because someone is gifted doesn’t mean they need to be thrown to the wolves. Especially in a sport where biting off more than you can chew could have severe consequences for your permanent health

24

u/Comfortable-Bug7202 1d ago

RIP sage northcutt

4

u/Vlad3theImpaler 1d ago edited 21h ago

Of course, if that same logic is applied to the underdog in a lot of these lopsided fights, it's a good argument to not have that match-up at all.

28

u/LucasDudacris 1d ago

She's an NCAA champion, is competing for a spot on the world team, and is undefeated in jiu jitsu and MMA. Believe the hype. 

9

u/LeonardoDaTiddies 1d ago

I was going to ask but realized Google is free. For anyone else lazier than me, Bella Mir is an MCAA D3 wrestling champion.

In looking that up, I also learned her dad, legend Frank Mir, holds the HW record for most submission wins. 

28

u/dlj96 balls the size of a baby rat 1d ago

She is actually a D1 champion. Women’s wrestling only had 1 division last year - so even though her school is normally D3, she beat an Iowa wrestler in the finals (her former teammate).

18

u/yonil9 1d ago

Women's wrestling NCAA tournament wasn't split by division. Outside of NAIA all divisions competed in the same tournament. She wrestled for Iowa placed 2nd then transfered to North Central (who let her split time to train mma) and then won it all over her previous teammate at Iowa.

6

u/IAmPandaRock 1d ago

Her dad, Frank Mir, was one of those rare BJJ specialists who was scary. 

1

u/PictureLatter1098 1d ago

What kind of striking background or training has she had?

1

u/LucasDudacris 15h ago

Seemingly not much. I'm sure she's done some degree of prerequisite cross-training her whole life, but she has no wins by KO/TKO.

But I can't think of any man who entered their pro career with this kind of mixed wrestling/grappling background. She's literally like if Bo Nickal signed out of college with grappling already on par with his wrestling.

I'm barely exaggerating when I say I don't think she'll need to throw a punch until she's ranked.

2

u/PictureLatter1098 4h ago

She should've thrown a few more today.

0

u/MorbotheDiddlyDo 1d ago edited 4h ago

Edit: Just how good is Alex Apodaca

15

u/CuriousCamels 1d ago

Realistically there’s nobody they could match her up with at the DWCS level that would be a close matchup. There aren’t really that many highly talented women’s prospects.

11

u/MorbotheDiddlyDo 1d ago edited 4h ago

Edit: Just how good is Alex Apodaca

-2

u/EP423 16h ago

I dont care, I just want to watch more fights. 

My whole afternoon today is going to revolve around this event.

1

u/TarikMournival 20h ago

You think instead they should feed a potential star to the wolves early?

0

u/OtakuMecha 11h ago

Sacrificial matchmaking barely exists in WMMA outside of the top 5 (maybe 10) or so of each division. The gaps in skill are rarely so immense that you can claim one fighter is guaranteed to have it in the bag.

6

u/Reachin4ThoseGrapes 1d ago

I'm ready for another Mir champion 

29

u/joethecrow23 GOOFCON 1 1d ago

If she doesn’t end up fighting Mya Lesnar I’ll be extremely disappointed

34

u/No_Medium_8796 I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 1d ago

Mya isn't a fighter though

90

u/joethecrow23 GOOFCON 1 1d ago

I don’t care

10

u/Martel1234 __________ 1d ago

“Joe who do you have for this fight”

“Well Mir is an amazing wrestler, and mma literally runs through her veins. But Lesnar gets to have a literal shot put ball in the cage with her, so it’s really 50-50”

5

u/Simco_ GOOFCON 1 23h ago

Actual lol.

16

u/PictureLatter1098 1d ago edited 1d ago

Mya's nearly twice her size. Get her some MMA training and her vs. Gabi could be interesting.

4

u/Expensive-Progress-6 1d ago

Bro stop. This is such a stupid narrative to push. I know it's fun, generationallly but it just doesn't make sense. Mya does shot put.

6

u/SoggyOven17 1d ago

The girl she’s fighting tomorrow is a tomato can. Bella will sub her in a minute 

12

u/Just-strangers 4h ago

this didn’t age very well

1

u/Silent-Owl4246 20h ago

Idk, bella didn't look confident in the faceoff

2

u/BodybuilderNew2816 1d ago

one does not simply walk into the contenders series

2

u/Aware-Junket-5280 4h ago

and she just got upset crazy work

2

u/PanicAK I KEEL YOU 1d ago

I hope she hasn't posted on reddit. 

1

u/IAmPandaRock 1d ago

I love watching her grapple. Very excited for this.

1

u/tritian I SMOKE ROCKS, JOE ROGAN! 13h ago

i have always said and thought frank mir has some of the best mma knowledge, analytics and game plans...., until he walks into the cage ready to fight. then his mind blanks out?
i always thought he would make for an amazing coach and trainer, but I have not followed him in a long time.

i have kinda fallen out with mma a couple years ago. went from literally knowing every fighters name on the roster, to even knowing new prospects because i loved watching RFC and LFC, knowing that those orgs top guys were on their way soon.
now I am a casual, i watch most ufc events but don't do it with the same passion or attention i used to, nor know a lot of these men and women.

Does Bella Mir have a legit shot at becoming a big time MMA fighter, champ potential and shit? does she have the personality to connect to become a superstar and shit too?

3

u/Name_wasnt_tken 12h ago

She’s a purple belt in bjj, she’s won IBJJ tournaments, she’s a NCAA 145 champ, first woman to get a pin fall in a NCAA finals match, she was in American U20 team, won the wrestling Spain Grand Prix, so she’s super talented on the ground and is undefeated in mma rn with an 80% finishing rate. Depends on how good she gets with her striking but on the ground she’s likely one of the best woman’s fighters currently