Alex Apodaca pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history on Tuesday night at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, defeating heavily favored prospect Bella Mir by unanimous decision during Week 3 of Season 10 of Dana White’s Contender Series. Heading into the bantamweight bout, Mir was listed as a staggering -6000 betting favorite at some outlets, making her the largest favorite in the history of the Contender Series, while Apodaca entered as a +1200 to +1700 underdog, according to Yardbarker.
Alex Apodaca Delivers Historic Upset Over Bella Mir at DWCS
Mir, the daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and an NCAA national champion wrestler, opened the fight strong with power punches, a one-two combination, and a knee. However, Apodaca answered with a sharp right hand and successfully defended Mir’s early grappling attempts. Speaking after the fight, Apodaca explained that she deliberately avoided checking the betting lines beforehand. I didn't want to look at the odds before; I knew they were some bullsh*t,
Apodaca said in her post-fight interview, as reported by Sherdog. I just truly believe if I stay present and in the moment that I can see everything and nobody is going to beat me. Cause I'm pretty technical, and I'm strong as f*ck.
How the Fight Unfolded Over Three Rounds
As the bout progressed past the opening frame, the momentum shifted decisively. By the second round, Apodaca took over on the feet, tagging a bloodied Mir with consistent jabs and body kicks while Mir largely abandoned her takedown attempts. In the third and final round, Apodaca maintained her pace with big punches and a strong jab. Although Mir managed to secure a late transition to Apodaca’s back and hunted for a finish, she was unable to do significant damage. All three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Apodaca, handing Mir the first defeat of her professional MMA career and dropping her record to 4-1, while improving Apodaca’s record.
UFC CEO Dana White admitted following the event that he held a personal bias toward Mir due to their long-standing relationship. Now, I'm very proud of myself that in 10 years of doing [Contender Series], I have never had any bias,
White stated. “I don’t know anything about anybody coming in. I was overly biased on this fight. I’ve known Bella for a long time — four years ago we started mapping out her plan and who she was going to be, and you came in tonight [and changed all of that].”
Full Contender Series Week 3 Contract Winners
With her historic victory, Apodaca earned herself a UFC contract alongside four other fighters on the card who impressed LowKick MMA and UFC leadership:
- Alex Apodaca defeated Bella Mir via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Guilherme Uriel defeated Mario Piazzon via submission (standing guillotine choke) at 0:50 of Round 1
- Sean Clancy Jr. defeated Gary Balletto via TKO (punches/elbows) at 3:54 of Round 2
- Ronald Humphrey defeated Alexis Miranda via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:03 of Round 1
- Nick Galanti defeated Carlos Petruzzella via knockout (punches) at 0:35 of Round 1
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