Dana White has been closely involved in Bella Mir’s
development for years.
The daughter of former
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Frank Mir is
set to compete on
Week 3 of
Dana White’s Contender Series 2026. White recently addressed
her career progression and aspirations.
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Dana White hypes up ‘special’ Bella Mir ahead of her DWCS
bout
Bella (4-0) will fight for a UFC contract on DWCS on Aug. 25,
against Alex
Apodaca (3-1), with the two bantamweights set to headline the
card. White was recently asked about the former and had nothing but
praise, revealing that he’s been closely monitoring her career for
four years.
“Yeah, I’m very excited about Bella,” White said at the
DWCS 2026 Week 1 post-fight press conference. “I’ve been very
involved in her life the last four years.”
Bella has previously revealed that she hopes to become the first
UFC fighter to compete in the Olympics while also pursuing
championships across multiple combat sports. White confirmed that
the unbeaten 23-year-old has expressed an interest in competing at
the 2028 Olympics while also targeting titles in the UFC, UFC BJJ
and Zuffa Boxing.
“Yeah, we’ve talked about it,” White added. “I mean, she presented
that to me.”
The UFC CEO then revealed that he encouraged the young prospect to
attend college rather than immediately turning professional after
high school, a decision that ultimately helped shape her wrestling
career.
“That was the goal, too, in college,” White said. “Not just for her
to get an education but to break some college records. She would
enter these jiu-jitsu competitions and win them. You know, while
she was only wrestling, not even doing jiu-jitsu. So, she’s
special.“