NIL has become a huge deal in college athletics, with student-athletes like gymnast Olivia Dunne earning millions monetizing their name, image, and likeness. Yet, Frank Mir’s daughter Della Mir created history by cracking the UFC’s first-ever NIL deal. “@UFC and @DanaWhite are happy to announce Bella Mir as our first NIL ambassador,” they announced. However, that was two years ago, and since then the wrestler has made some big strides.

For instance, Mir was still with the Iowa Hawkeyes when she signed with the UFC. Now, Mir is with Hawkeyes’ rivals, Division III North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. While North Central already went toe-to-toe in the 2024 Nationals against Iowa, Mir just won the U23 65kg division at the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Women’s National Championships. Yet, the UFC legend’s daughter has no plans of slowing down.

Bella Mir announced what’s next on the horizon after beating Nina Makem (Minnesota) 2-0 in a three-bout series at the championships. “Definitely thinking about going to Mexico for Pan-Ams… Then definitely want to go to US Open, trying to get to that final,” the wrestler told reporters. And there’s a good reason why she hopes to do well in the U.S. Open.

Frank Mir’s daughter hopes to set up a rematch with an athlete from her former team, the Iowa Hawkeyes. “Hopefully me and Mace have a little rematch,” wished the college wrestling star. And ‘Mace’ is none other than the 145 lb, 2025 Women’s College National Champion Macey Kilty. Why you ask? Well, Kilty beat Mir 7-2 in the NCWWC National Championships less than a month ago.

What’s more? Mir had already defeated another Hawkeye in the same way to get to the finals. The champion wrestler beat Reese Larramendy (decision victory, 6-3) to reach the finals, where she faced another Iowa athlete and her former teammate. A clash between former teammates is always exciting to watch. But then again why did Mir transfer in the first place?

Bella Mir was missing something in Iowa

The Bella Mir vs. Macey Kilty bout at the NCWWC National Championships was one of the most anticipated. The two top 145-pounders had turned from teammates to rivals, with Mir transferring to North Central. However, the rivalry among the schools remained intact, with Iowa coming in as the defending national champions and Central College as one of their biggest challenges.

Naturally, this year all eyes were on Bella Mir who had switched camps to North Central. “I loved Iowa, the school, the fans, and my team more than anything, but something was missing, and I’m hoping to find it at North Central,” she said last year as per FloWrestling. North Central was equally delighted to have the young wrestler on the roster.

“We wanted Bella the first time around, and we loved her in the recruiting process. We are happy to have her joining us in our pursuit of winning the 2025 NCWWC title,” the school added. The wrestler garnered even more hype after beating the competition from Iowa, like Reese Larramendy. However, Macey Kilty managed to edge out Mir on the scorecards.

Not don’t to take a loss lying down, Bella Mir is already back to her winning way and looking for a second shot at her Hawkeyes rival. The question is: Will they meet at the U.S. Open?