Diana Belvita has turned his back against the wall after losing five of her seven UFC fights to date, but that doesn’t mean his opponent Dion Barbosa is hoping for a quick night in the cage in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Barbosa returned to action at UFC Vegas 105 after making a decision in a short-term match against Miranda Maverick this July, informing MMA that MMA is dealing with Belvita as an elite fighter looking to improve to 2-1 in the promotion.
“If that’s up to me, her bad streak will continue,” Barbosa said with a laugh. “I like this matchup and she’s faced with tough opponents like Molly (McCann), who just retired, so she’s far more experienced than I do.
Belbita will also be short on UFC against Hannah Goldy and Maria Oliveira, but lose when paired twice with McCann, and run short against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Gloria de Paula and Liana Jojua.
That’s not important for Barbosa, who knows she needs victory.
“I’m going to war,” Barbosa said. “I don’t consider the situation she’s in. I’m losing money too. I’ve fought with a short notice, but that doesn’t matter. At the end of the day it’s a loss. I train as if this is a title fight.
Barbosa once again went on a training camp at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, and found it to bring about advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, she is surrounded by high-level athletes who are constantly embracing exchange knowledge. On the other hand, it is not the most private environment.
“But I have no problem training with people I might fight in the future,” Barbosa said. “It’s annoying at times, but it’s an opportunity. It’s hard for women to find someone to train with, so you have to train with other women. You have to train from classes of the same weight, and I like that.
For example, after a successful debut against Elnesta Carekyato at UFC 301, Barbosa called out Ivana Petrovich. She met Petrovich multiple times during this camp at the UFC PI. According to Barbosa, it’s all honest and their interactions don’t stop them from facing one day.
Barbosa was offered a fight with the recent UFC Mexico Card, but will eventually enter the cage in the UFC Apex in a week. Las Vegas residents wanted to compete after a long layoff, but ultimately they didn’t like to travel to Mexico City.
“As soon as we heard about the Battle of Mexico, we began preparing for high altitudes,” Barbosa said. “We have to spend more to prepare it. We were going there three or four weeks ago. I was upset when I pushed me a week later because I wanted to fight, but at the same time it was good because I had to invest less (money) in this camp.”
The “Witch” wants to continue active and fight as quickly as possible in her victory at UFC Vegas 105, with potential opponents in mind.
“I was supposed to be fighting Casey O’Neill. We agreed verbally, but she was injured a week later,” Barbosa said. “She had knee surgery. In fact, she’s treating it here (with UFC PI). In the end, she wants to see each other. She’s ranked so I want to fight her, but now she’s updated her rankings and JJ Aldrich is ranked now.