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Diana Belbita received an unpleasant welcome upon arriving in the UFC more than four years ago. She was on the losing side of one of the more lopsided decisions you’re likely to see, dropping her debut to “Meatball” Molly McCann with all three scorecards reading 30-25.
Belbita, from Romania but now training out of Stoney Creek, Ont., has since dropped down to her natural weight class and is hoping to make 2024 the best of her professional career. The 27-year-old will get her shot at redemption this weekend in a featured preliminary bout at UFC Fight Night: Dolidze vs. Imavov when she faces McCann in a rematch.
Their first fight took place in the 125-pound flyweight division where Belbita was consistently at a size and strength disadvantage. Belbita is 2-2 as a strawweight and has improved all areas of her game since her first fight in the Octagon, giving her added confidence heading into her seventh UFC bout.
“I think it’s a totally different fight, not just because of the different weight class, but because of the time,” Belbita told Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter ahead of her rematch with McCann. “Now we are talking about a different level, we are talking about me as a different fighter and I bet she’s a different fighter too. I bet for a while she was focused on being that superstar more but I’m pretty sure after her last two fights she realized that she has to be a fighter before she is a superstar, so I really expect her to be super, super focused on this fight and training and everything.”
McCann is 3-4 since beating Belbita with a pair of losing streaks sandwiching a three-fight winning streak that saw her walk away with three performance bonuses. The popular English fighter was chased from the 125-pound division after two consecutive first-round submission losses to Erin Blanchfield and Julija Stoliarenko. Now McCann, 33, is dropping to strawweight for the first time in an attempt to revive her career.
“How is she going to feel at 115 pounds? She welcomed me to the UFC; I welcome her to 115 pounds,” Belbita said. “For this one I’m going to be the strong one. … She couldn’t finish me when I was just a kid fighting in the wrong weight class, I’m not going to think she has a chance to finish me now, so I’m ready for that. Let’s see what’s going to happen.”
Belbita is coming off a loss to one-time title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz in October, after which she actually said she briefly decided to end her young fighting career. That all changed just two weeks later, however, when the UFC called her manager offering a shot at redemption against the first woman to defeat her at the UFC level.
“I always think everything always happens for a reason and I wanted this (rematch) so much and then I was like, ‘I’m done,’ and they give me this fight so I’m like that’s a sign to be back in the game,” Belbita said before adding with a laugh, “so it was the shortest retirement ever I think, two weeks. But I did enjoy those two weeks. I was eating all the sweets.”
A victory over McCann to get herself back in the win column at 115 pounds would also be sweet for Belbita this weekend at the UFC Apex.
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