Diana Belbita eyes victory at UFC Vegas 105 before possible retirement

After more than a year away from competition due to a string of injuries, Diana Belbita is finally stepping back into the Octagon at UFC Vegas 105. But this time, things are different. The Romanian-Canadian fighter is returning to flyweight after years of punishing weight cuts to make the 115-pound strawweight limit—cuts that left her body battered and fragile. Now, at 125 pounds, Belbita feels healthier, stronger, and, most importantly, free from the pressure that once weighed her down.
“I’m happy to be back now. I kind of wanted to fight in March, so I was pushing to fight in March, but April is not bad. It’s the beginning of April, so I’m really excited for the fight and I’m excited for the match-up,” Belbita (15-9) told Cageside Press.
Diana Belbita’s struggles at strawweight were taking a serious toll. Her daily 16-mile runs, combined with consuming as little as 400 calories per day, wreaked havoc on her body.
“My knees are 80 years old, I feel,” she admitted. “That made my knees really weak. So every time I started running, my knees were getting sore, the meniscus got torn, then the tendons were snapping all the time.”
Now, as she prepares to fight Dione Barbosa, she’s confident in her ability to keep up the pressure. “I know she’s going to be aggressive at the beginning, and I know she’s going to try to take me down like every other fighter… But at the same time, I know she cannot handle the pace and the pressure, so that may be my way to win the fight.”
Belbita is known for never turning down a challenge, regardless of the opponent. “I don’t care who they offer me, I’m just going to say yes. They can offer me the champion, I’m still going to fight. I hate when people pick fights.”
Win or lose, big changes are ahead. Belbita is planning to move to Indiana and open her own gym, acknowledging that the damage she’s sustained over the years is catching up to her.
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“My body takes a lot of damage already… So even if I’m going to fight after this fight or not, it’s not going to change much.”
Fittingly, UFC Vegas 105 falls on April 5—exactly 11 years since her accidental MMA debut. “I’m very superstitious. This can be my last fight, or this can be another boom. It’s really interesting how it’s going to play out.”