Bella Mir is revolutionizing combat sports forever as she received yet another sponsorship. The 23-year-old wrestling prodigy and MMA athlete became the first fighter to secure UFC’s NIL deal back in 2023. Fast forward to 2025, and Mir’s momentum is showing no signs of slowing down.
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“Bella was destined to become a member of the UFC family her entire life,” White flashed in pride in UFC’s first NIL ambassador. Turning on the heels of that unforgettable moment, Mir has secured her second career sponsor deal while still a college junior.
Bella Mir starts a new chapter in her MMA career, joining $1.8M empire
UFC Legend and former Heavyweight champion Frank Mir’s daughter extended her roster of endorsement deals with VaiDai Coffee’s new sponsorship. The premium ready-to-drink functional coffee brand added Mir to its NIL program, with the former heavyweight champion’s daughter embodying the values of energy, focus, and performance.
Announcing this development on Instagram, Vai Dai wrote, “We’re beyond thrilled to officially welcome the unstoppable Bella Mir – four-time state wrestling champion, undefeated MMA phenom, UFC’s trailblazing NIL pioneer, and future legend – as our newest NIL athlete!”
This marks a shift in Mir’s combat sports career as she joins the roster of high-value branding athletes. Moreover, as an undefeated MMA fighter and wrestler with a polished pedigree, Mir has earned her sponsors instead of being handed down to her as Frank Mir’s daughter.
As a 145-pound Region V Champion and National Runner-Up, Bella Mir has terrorized the women’s division with her fierce demeanor and unfathomable grit. Last year, she made her UFC BJJ debut in Las Vegas, securing a d’Arce choke submission win against Maria Carolina Joia in the second round.
She made her return to UFC BJJ 4 with a UD win over Rana Willink, Jocko Willink’s daughter, with consistent takedowns and ground control time. Moreover, last year, she also extended her MMA record to 4-0 in Fury FC with a first-round kimura “chicken wing” finish against Stephanie Calderon.
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That marked her return to MMA after over 3 years, which wasn’t purely out of personal choice. Rather, a culmination of obstacles steered her astray from juggling three different combat disciplines at once, almost pushing her to the verge of quitting wrestling.
Bella Mir keeps wrestling at the forefront of her goals
When Bella Mir first began college, a conflict of her coaches’ interests kept her away from training disciplines other than wrestling at the University of Iowa. While the college is known for being one of the best female wrestling teams, Mir had a hard time fitting into the culture. Topping it all off with injuries, Mir was compelled to transfer to a different college.
“The main reason [I left Iowa] for sure was my injuries and having to deal with that all year,” Mir shared with MMA Fighting. “I’m going and still doing all three [sports] as far as I can and MMA/UFC has always been my main goal. I need my body for that.”
Her vision to follow in the footsteps of her father is what acted as the final push to make a critical decision in her career, something UFC boss Dana White helped her with. “I talked with my coaches and Dana White, I have meetings with him a lot, and he kind of was just like ‘why don’t we transfer, let’s just see if you need a different environment or maybe it’s your body and you’re not meant for wrestling anymore,’” Mir added.
After her transfer to North Central College, which better fit her career aspirations, Mir could focus on debuting in jiu-jitsu and returning to the MMA scene. However, while the UFC BJJ event intrigued her relationship with the promotion, Mir wants to focus on wrestling at the moment, as she vies for the Olympics.
“Going to the Olympic trials and making that team, I feel like you wrestle at any level, whose dream is it not to go to the Olympics and go represent America on their back and their chest? Of course, that is my goal,” Mir shared. However, with her next wrestling event in October 2026 in Serbia for the U23 Worlds, Mir has quite a window for competing in a couple of MMA fights in her summer off from college.
Clearly, Bella Mir is one of the most ambitious and busiest athletes of her age, not wanting to catch a breath as she juggles demanding disciplines all at once, proving exactly what makes her a top pick for brands like Vai Dai for NIL deals. What are your thoughts on Bella Mir? Would you like to see her make her UFC debut soon?