DWCS 89: Bella Mir falls, Benouaich heads for UFC Paris

Bella Mir, daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, walked into Tuesday's Dana White's Contender Series as the heaviest favourite the show has ever posted. She walked out without a contract, beaten by Alex Apodaca. On the French front, Delphine Benouaich is getting ready for her UFC debut in Paris.

Who won the DWCS 89 main event?

Alex Apodaca takes the fight by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) over Bella Mir, after three rounds in the main event at the Meta Apex in Enterprise, Nevada.

The betting line says everything about the upset: Mir sat at -6000, the biggest favourite in ten years of Contender Series, with Apodaca a +1200 underdog.

The fight itself never looked like the odds. Mir landed her left hand early, but Apodaca countered cleanly, defended the back control and closed the round with a calf kick and ground strikes. In the second, the American stuffed the takedowns, led 17-12 in significant strikes and bloodied Mir's nose. In the third, Mir shot behind a front kick and Apodaca caught the ankle and hit her from above. Mir finished the night 1-for-6 on takedowns, taking the back only late, far too late to swing the cards.

Dana White offered no excuse: "I don't know anything about anybody coming in. I was overly biased on this fight." The UFC boss echoed Michael Bisping, who had flagged Apodaca's experience in deep water before the opening bell.

Bella Mir (4-1) takes the first loss of her professional career, and leaves empty-handed from a night she had treated as a formality. Before the fight she laid out an unusually broad career plan — UFC, UFC BJJ, Zuffa Boxing and Olympic wrestling, with Dana White's blessing: "I don't want to just go for world titles, I want to go for a legacy. I want to be legendary." An NCAA champion at 145 pounds with North Central College, she still has to face 2024 Olympic silver medallist Kennedy Blades for a spot at the World Championships.

Full DWCS 89 results, 25 August 2026

BELLA MIR vs ALEX APODACA

ALEX APODACA wins by unanimous decision in Round 3 (5:00)

MARIO PIAZZON vs GUILHERME URIEL

GUILHERME URIEL wins by submission (standing guillotine) in Round 1 (0:50)

GARY BALLETTO vs SEAN CLANCY JR.

SEAN CLANCY JR. wins by KO/TKO in Round 2 (3:54)

ALEXIS MIRANDA vs RONALD HUMPHREY

RONALD HUMPHREY wins by submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1 (4:03)

CARLOS PETRUZZELLA vs NICK GALANTI

NICK GALANTI wins by KO/TKO in Round 1 (0:35)

Five fights, five winners, five UFC contracts handed out: Alex Apodaca, Guilherme Uriel, Sean Clancy Jr., Ronald Humphrey and Nick Galanti all join the roster.

Delphine Benouaich, from TUF to the Accor Arena

Delphine Benouaich (7-2) was the first Frenchwoman picked for The Ultimate Fighter, competing on season 34 under Daniel Cormier. A PE teacher from Évry-Courcouronnes, a national champion in grappling and boxing before turning professional in March 2024, she beat Mackenzie Stiller before dropping a unanimous decision in the strawweight semifinals to Brazil's Valesca "Tina Black" Machado. The UFC did not wait for the season to end: she signed her contract on July 6.

She makes her debut on Saturday, September 5 at the Accor Arena, on a UFC Paris card headlined by Dan Hooker against Salahdine Parnasse, facing Argentina's Sofia "La Bruja" Montenegro (6-2). Montenegro also comes out of the Contender Series, where she earned a contract despite a split-decision loss to Jeisla Chaves — the same Jeisla Chaves stopped by Carli Judice in Sacramento four days ago.

Benouaich becomes the third Frenchwoman on the UFC roster, after Manon Fiorot and Nora Cornolle.

In brief

Jiri Prochazka shut down rumours of an interim light heavyweight title fight against Paulo Costa at UFC 332: "Just don't believe to every bullsh*t on internet. Fight is not confirmed yet, still working on that." The Czech has not fought since being knocked out by Carlos Ulberg at UFC 327 in April.
The UFC locked in its last two big nights of 2026: UFC 334 on November 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York, and UFC 335 on December 12 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No bouts have been announced for either card yet.