Bella Mir suffered a shocking unanimous decision upset loss against Alex Apodaca in the Contender Series main event. Entering as the biggest betting favorite in the program’s history, the 23-year-old grappler and NCAA wrestling champion ran into unexpected trouble.
Contender Seriesのメインイベントで起きた記録的大番狂わせ
On Tuesday night, Bella Mir ended up on the wrong end of one of the biggest upset losses in MMA history, dropping a unanimous decision to Alex Apodaca in the main event of Week 3 of Contender Series. Daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and an NCAA national champion in wrestling, Bella Mir was the biggest betting favorite in Contender Series history, coming in at -6000 in some places, but was unable to have much success with her wrestling and grappling and was outworked over 15 minutes by Apodaca. At just 23 years old, this is likely only a setback for Mir, but given her outspoken stance before the fight, where Mir stated that she intended to become史上最高のアスリートになると宣言していた通り、ミルは自身の意気込みについて語っていたが、MMAコミュニティの一部からは、このまさかの黒星に飛びつく批判的な声が早くも上がっていた。
The bout was supposed to be an exhibition for Mir, who entered the bout as the biggest betting favorite in the history of the program, and one of the biggest in MMA history. But with only four fights to her name, Mir’s inexperience caught up to her, and Apodaca authored one of the biggest upsets in MMA history, stymying Mir for the better part of the fight and piling up damage on the feet en route to a unanimous decision win. The loss sends Mir back to the drawing board.
デイナ・ホワイトCEOが語る経験の差と「深い水底」の教訓
UFC CEO Dana White, who has been a longtime supporter of Mir, was shocked by the outcome and shared his perspective during the post-show press conference.
「私は今夜の試合に関して極めて偏っていた。彼女とは4年以上の付き合いがあり、4年前に彼女が私のもとへ来て自分の将来を計画したいと言ってきたんだ。大学へ行って待つように、大学でレスリングのバックグラウンドを築いて素晴らしい実績を残してからここへ来るようにと彼女を説得したのは私だ。ここ数年の彼女の目標については、皆さんも耳にしているはずだ」 デイナ・ホワイト（UFC CEO）、Yahoo Sports
White also noted that Bisping absolutely nailed it by pointing out that the difference in the fight was deep water, a realm where Bella had never been before, while Alex had. Heading into the fight, Mir was viewed as one of the best prospects in women’s MMA. The daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, Bella Mir is also an NCAA national champion wrestler and an accomplished grappler. Still, at just 23 years old and only four fights into her MMA career, Mir has a lot of learning to do in the fight game, and White believes she just got a big lesson.
「ビスピングが言っていたように、彼女には『深い水底』での経験がなかった。そして今、それができた。彼女は折れず、止められもせず、諦めもしなかった。これは競技の当然のプロセスだ。このスポーツで無敗のまま駆け抜けるのは非常に難しい。だからこそ、ジョン・ジョーンズのようにそれが成し遂げられた時、常に話題になるんだ」 デイナ・ホワイト（UFC CEO）、Yahoo Sports
White added further perspective on young fighters experiencing adversity, mentioning the killers that Jon Jones fought when he was a young guy in the sport, including his first fight with Gustafsson when he got his deep water experience and how he reacted to and overcame it, noting that these are all things that are part of this game.
MMAコミュニティの反応と今後の去就
As for what comes next, that depends on Mir. White has been open about his affinity for Mir, and the UFC has long ties to her, sponsoring her NIL deal in college and having her compete several times for UFC BJJ. When asked if Mir might make another appearance on Contender Series this year, White indicated that the decision rests with her and her father.
