Overview
- Alex Apodaca defeated Bella Mir by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) on Tuesday, Aug. 25, handing Mir the first loss of her professional MMA career and earning Apodaca a UFC contract.
- Bella Mir entered the fight as the largest women’s favorite in Contender Series history with pre-fight markets reporting odds as high as -6000 in some books and -1600 in others, an expectation that the result overturned.
- Five fighters from DWCS Season 10 Week 3 received UFC contracts: Alex Apodaca, Guilherme Uriel, Sean Clancy Jr., Ronald Humphrey and Nick Galanti, with four of those card-winners earning finishes.
- In the main event Apodaca repeatedly defended Mir’s takedown attempts, used range and body strikes to score in the second round and left Mir with a bloody nose while limiting Mir’s grappling control.
- The outcome highlights the Contender Series’ role as a fast pathway to the UFC and forces Mir to rebuild her path to the Octagon while prompting fans and oddsmakers to reassess how promotion and betting lines predict in-cage results.