Dione Barbosa: ‘I’m on the Rise’

---

Some mixed martial artists are slowed by setbacks. Dione Barbosa seems almost emboldened by them.

“The Witch” will attempt to strengthen her position in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s flyweight division when she faces Diana Belbita in a featured UFC on ESPN 65 prelim this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Barbosa signed with the company off a successful appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023. She holds a 1-1 record inside the Octagon but stumbled in her most recent assignment at UFC on ESPN 60, where she filled in as a short-notice replacement for Tracy Cortez and lost a unanimous decision to Miranda Maverick in July.

“I see things very positively,” Barbosa said. “I’m on the rise. I keep gaining experience in MMA. I feel it was a good performance considering how little time I had to get ready. I know that if I had more time the result would have been different.”

Next on the Brazilian’s docket: a showdown with Belbita at 125 pounds. An accomplished kickboxer out of Romania, Belbita has compiled a disappointing 2-5 record across her seven outings in the UFC. She steps back into view on the heels of back-to-back losses to former Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki champion Karolina Kowalkiewicz and onetime Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Molly McCann. Belbita can ill afford another misstep.

“She’s very experienced,” Barbosa said. “She’s been in the UFC for some time. She has her worth. She’s coming off two losses, but in the UFC, sometimes we see fighters score memorable wins after three losses in a row. I’m heading into this fight as if we were fighting for the belt. It doesn’t matter if she lost recently. I know that she’ll be coming at me at full force. I’m getting ready as if we were going to be in the cage for all five rounds of a championship bout.

“I see myself beating her,” she added. “We studied her and spotted holes in her game. We put a strategy together for her. She’s a good striker who moves forward. She’s very energetic in the cage. I’m ready for her. My goal is to submit her and do so quickly.”

Barbosa readied herself in Las Vegas, where she trained under Renato Canuto and Raquel Canuto at the UFC Performance Institute and Hybrid Jiu-Jitsu.

“We have a good group with several female fighters,” she said. “We also train with male fighters who should be in the UFC soon.”

Moving forward, Barbosa wants to increase her activity level.

“I hope to fight at least twice more this year,” she said. “I’ll keep putting in the work so I’m ready for future challenges. For now, I’m only thinking about Diana, then we’ll see what the UFC has for me. I’ll be ready for anything.”