Mir works with daughter ahead of bout
HONOLULU – Bellator officials picked an incredibly special setting for their athletes’ open workout ahead of this weekend’s dual mixed martial arts events, but even they might not have realized the importance of what was to transpire.
As the company set up shop on The Great Lawn at Hilton Hawaiian Village, it wasn’t just the palm trees and ocean breeze that gained the most attention. Instead, it was the site of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir and his teenage daughter, Isabella, working on her MMA skills that left most observers buzzing.
As it turns out, Mir’s daughter will serve as one of his licensed corners at Friday’s Bellator 212, and the MMA superstar believes her passion for the sport provides his motivation.
“I’ve accomplished great things in my life to this point,” Mir told USA TODAY. “A lot of people would say, ‘You’ve done enough. Why risk getting hit in the head more or going out there and taking losses?’ That’s not why I’d be getting in a fight anyways. I love martial arts, and it’s a passion for me. It’s my religion.
“Now my children — and right now Bella, the heaviest — has that same passion, so it’s something now that — once I knew she wanted to be a fighter, I started preparing myself.”
Mir said he expects his daughter to start taking amateur fights next year. Meanwhile, passion for martial arts is an intriguing topic in the current climate of MMA. While the Ultimate Fighting Championship remains the biggest brand in the sport, promotions such as Bellator have decided to shy away from the bombastic displays seemingly expected in the shadows of the likes of Conor McGregor, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey and instead focus more on accomplishments registered inside of the cage.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, a karate expert who makes his promotional debut on the card, is thrilled with the approach.
“I’m so excited for this moment,” Machida said. “Everything changed, and now I’m in my new home, new environment, and I believe that it’s going to be the best for me to be here in Bellator. I’m so happy, and I can’t wait to step in the cage and put on an outstanding performance.”
Bellator promotes two events this weekend, with lightweight champ Brent Primus (8-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) taking on Michael Chandler (18-4, 15-4) in a massive rematch in the main event of Friday’s Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops, while women’s flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (8-0, 7-0) puts her belt on the line against Valerie Letourneau (10-6,
2-0) in the featured bout of Saturday’s Bellator 213. Both cards stream on DAZN (10 p.m. ET), with Friday’s event also simulcasting on Paramount.
It’s a big weekend for Bellator, which brings highlevel MMA back to Hawaii for the first time in a decade. But while former UFC champions such as Mir and Machida help bring star power to the card, three of the four headlining athletes are homegrown talent, with
84 percent of their career bouts contested under the Bellator banner.
Much like Mir ushering in a new generation of talent in overseeing his own daughter’s career, it seems Bellator is also keying in on the future rather than simply recycling former UFC stars. And Bellator President Scott Coker also appears intent on varying from the current status quo, taking keys from MMA’s roots in planning his company’s future.
“When I came here four years ago, I said, ‘I’m going to bring martial arts back into MMA,’ ” Coker said. “That was one of my mission statements. I think that (the sport) kind of got off track a little bit because this is a martial art, and we should treat it as such.”