UFC Signs Frank Mir's Daughter Bella as Sport's 1st NIL Ambassador

UFC is finally testing the NIL waters with the historic signing of University of Iowa women's wrestler Bella Mir.

UFC announced Friday that Mir, who is a freshman at Iowa, is the first person to be signed to a name, image and likeness deal by the promotion.

Mir already has deep MMA roots, as her father, Frank Mir, is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion who was a professional MMA fighter from 2001 through 2019.

The elder Mir fought under the UFC umbrella from 2001 through 2016, beating Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title in 2004 and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira for the interim heavyweight title in 2008.

Mir fought many of the biggest names in the sport during his UFC tenure, including Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, Daniel Cormier and Alistair Overeem.

After leaving UFC, Mir fought three times for Bellator in 2018 and 2019, losing to Fedor Emelianenko and Javy Ayala, before defeating Roy Nelson at Bellator 231 in October 2019, which was his last MMA fight to date.

All told, Mir compiled a 19-13 career record as a pro MMA fighter with nine victories by submission and five by way of knockout.

Regarding her foray into UFC as the promotion's first NIL athlete, Bella Mir said: "I'm super grateful and I honestly couldn't be more thankful to [UFC president] Dana [White] and UFC for giving me this opportunity. I'm going to make sure I do my best to represent UFC and show the world what I'm all about."

White also provided a statement regarding the move, expressing excitement over securing a deal with Mir:

"Bella was destined to become a member of the UFC family her entire life, and I'm proud that she's making history as our first NIL ambassador in one of the best programs at the University of Iowa. ... Bella is an incredible role model for young women who are not only looking to get into sports, but also pursue their dreams. She's on another level, and we can't wait to see what she does next."

Bella Mir was a four-time Nevada state high school wrestling champion and ranked sixth nationally at 144 pounds before committing to wrestle at Iowa, and she has already started her professional MMA career as well, posting a 3-0 record.

Shortly after college athletes were allowed to start signing NIL deals in 2021, WWE was the first major combat sports organization to get involved, and it has now signed a total of three "Next In Line" NIL classes.

Signing an NIL deal with WWE allows athletes to learn about the wrestling business and see if they would be a good fit before potentially signing a developmental contract with WWE, but it doesn't guarantee they will become a WWE Superstar.

The 20-year-old Mir's deal with UFC is likely similar, although the fact that she's part of a UFC bloodline and is already an MMA fighter bodes well for her chances of stepping inside the Octagon at some point.