Bella Mir adds to her family’s collection of championships.
Her father, Frank, was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion while helping the sport’s popularity soar during his 16-year career. He still holds the record for most submission wins in the UFC heavyweight division with eight.
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Now Bella is writing her own history. Mir, the No. 2 seed in Division III North Central Wrestling, defeated No. 1 Reese Larramendy of Iowa 5-0 in the 145-pound championship match Saturday night in Coralville, Iowa, in the inaugural NCAA Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Championships.
Mir led Laramendi 5-0 before scoring the first goal in the NCAA women’s wrestling finals. Mir controlled the fight for much of the fight and established an advantage with a clinical takedown just 40 seconds into the fight against her former teammate, who handed Mir her only loss of the regular season. Less than three minutes into the fight, Mir beautifully reversed a takedown attempt from Larramendi, pinning her back and locking up her opponent.
Lalamendi’s 35-game unbeaten streak was ended.
The 22-year-old started her college career at Iowa State before transferring to North Central in Naperville, Ill., where she did not score in the NCAA tournament. She won her first match 11-0 and then went on to win 10-0 in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
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North Central finished third in the team standings in the NCAA Tournament. Division II McKendree won the team title by a narrow margin over No. 2 Iowa State, the only Division I school in the Power 4 conference that currently sponsors women’s wrestling at the collegiate level.
Mir is considered by many to be the next great female MMA fighter in the UFC. She is a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and has a 4-0 record as a professional MMA fighter.
Bella was 5 years old when Frank won his second UFC title. She told ESPN in a recent interview that ever since, she’s wanted one of her own.
“There are some very special people who stand out in the history of the UFC and the sport,” UFC president Dana White told ESPN. “I have no doubt that Bella will be one of them.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UFC legend Frank Mir’s daughter Bella Mir wins NCAA wrestling title