But Bella Mir has never really felt the weight of those expectations despite traveling the combat sports road first tread by her dad, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
“It’s something I never thought about too much,” Mir said on Wednesday morning, prior to her return to competition at UFC BJJ 4, where she faces off with Rana Willink. “Like LeBron’s son always being compared to his dad, I never got caught up in that because I never wanted to be like my dad.
“I definitely wanted to show people that I have what my dad had — I have what it takes to be a UFC champ and obviously hitting Mir locks — but I definitely do like to split off and having it be, ‘Bella Mir is evolving; she’s like an evolution of her dad.’ I’m always gonna be like, ‘Frank Mir is my dad,’ and I think that’s really cool, but I think it will be really cool when my daughter or son is competing and it’s like, ‘My grandpa was Frank Mir and my mom is Bella Mir!’
“I think this will be the best family legacy of fighters; just keep it rolling.”
Not only is Mir evolving and expanding her skills in all three arenas where she competes — wrestling, mixed martial arts, and Brazilian jiu jitsu — but she’s also at the vanguard of a wave of young talents gaining prominence in the combat sports space as women’s sports continue to gain increased traction and exposure.
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“I think it’s cool to be an example for women’s sports because I feel like women’s sports have just come such a long way,” said the 22-year-old, who will jump from the UFC BJJ Bowl on Thursday to competing at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships this weekend before returning to college and attempting to chase down a National title on the wrestling mats. “Ronda (Rousey) was the start of it in MMA — she really paved the way for women in the sport — and the obviously Amanda (Nunes) keeping that up, winning the two division titles; there are so many girls I could keep going — Holly (Holm) and Rose (Namajunas) — and I feel like without those people, we wouldn’t have been able to be here without them.
“I love that I get to keep that going and this next generation of young girls get to look up to me, and I think it’s awesome to be an example for them.”
While there are numerous elements that make Mir a must-see attraction whenever she competes, one of the things that stands out most prominently is her openness about the voice that creeps into her head in those tense moments where it’s either fight or flight.
“As long as I’m breathing, that voice will always be there,” began the three-sport standout when asked if the voice has quieted or dissipated at all of late. “I feel like people just don’t like to talk about it because it shows that they’re ‘weak,’ and I just don’t think there is anything wrong with being honest.
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“I know that if you have been in a combat sports competition, I know that voice has been in your head where you’ve doubted yourself; ‘What if she just finishes you out right here and you just get to go home and leave?’ There are so many times where that voice comes in and either you completely quiet your mind, but that’s way harder to do because it’s hard to quiet the noise, so what me and my dad do is just ‘be louder’ — make your noise louder than the voice inside of you; that’s what I’ve been working on.
“It definitely has gotten better where I’m not super-nervous or freaking out because I compete all the time,” she added with a smirk. “I couldn’t tell you how many competitions I’ve had this year — dozens. It’s gone quieter, but I definitely always have to conquer it.”
If things play the way she anticipates, there will be a number of things Mir conquers both in the immediate future and over the course of what she projects to be a long and successful career.
“First thing of 2026 is I’m gonna win an NCAA title; that’ll be first,” she said, laying out her targets for the coming year across her multiple disciplines. “This Saturday I’ve gotta win purple belt World gold for IBJJF, so hopefully I’ll get my brown belt, so brown belt Worlds next year, a few UFC BJJ wins — I definitely want to get on more than two cards next year — and I definitely wanna fight more than once for MMA, so maybe you’ll see two fights next year too.
“I definitely want to win that black belt world title in IBJJF, and I wanna win UFC gold — UFC BJJ gold, after Raquel; she’s gonna win it tomorrow and hopefully she can pass it down to me when she retires in a few years,” she added, shifting to her long-term jiu jitsu aims while showing full confidence in her training partner Raquel Canuto, who faces Aurelie Le Vern to crown the inaugural UFC BJJ featherweight title. “And I’ve always wanted to win an ADCC title; that’s the pinnacle of jiu jitsu, it’s like the Olympics.”
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Focused, driven, and dangerous — Bella Mir is definitely her father’s daughter, but she’s also a burgeoning star in her own right, and someone who projects to be a prominent figure across multiple sports for the foreseeable future.
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