Welcome to the UFC: Diana Belbita

Diana Belbita UFC
Credit: RXF Facebook

The UFC flyweight division already has a “Violence Queen,” now it has a “Warrior Princess” with the signing of Romanian Diana Belbita.

“The Warrior Princess”
5’7″
Flyweight
22-years-old
Strehaia, Romania
Preda Fight Club/House of Champions
12-4
5 KO/TKO, 3 Submissions
(3 Armbars)

Get to Know Diana Belbita:

Born in Romania, Belbita currently lives in the capital, Bucharest, and next month plans to move to Ontario, Canada. Belbita is 22-years-old, and at the age of 11, she started practicing in kickboxing. Belbita stuck with kickboxing and would become a multi-national champion. At the age of 16, she won the World Cup of K-1 for the WAKO Federation. At the time, when Belbita was competing in martial arts, the age limit to start participating in MMA was 18. Once she turned 18, Belbita switched to MMA as she wanted a tougher sport moving forward. In Romania, she trains with her coach Eugen Preda out of Preda Fight Club and in Canada with Alin Halmagean out of House of Champions. In 2014, “The Warrior Princess” made her MMA debut in 2014 and now has a professional record of 12-4. Along the way, Belbita competed mainly in Romania but also made two appearances for KSW.

How Does Diana Belbita Fare in the UFC:

I like that the UFC is trying to bring in more international fighters but lately, the fighters they have signed have either been way too soon or just not deserving. Belbita has some good experience with two of her losses to UFC fighter Ariane Lipski and former UFC fighter Cristina Stanciu. The level of competition she has beat has been extremely low with her opponents having a combined record of 8-13. She is on a three-fight win streak now, but all of her opponents were making their professional debuts. Where Belbita is good would be in the clinch where she will fire relentless knees. She has a lot of holes, as on the feet she lacks hand speed and when she strikes, she takes too long to get her guard back. Her head movement also needs a lot of work. Belbita has decent jiu-jitsu but against a good fighter, she will struggle off her back. A good wrestler would also take her down at will.

  • Striking: C+
  • Kickboxing: C
  • Clinch: C+
  • Wrestling: C
  • Grappling: C
  • Striking Defense: D
  • Takedown Defense: C
  • Cardio: B-
  • Biggest Strength: Clinch
  • Biggest Weakness: Striking defense