Mark De La Rosa will face Raulian Paiva at UFC Rio Rancho — making a bit of history in the process.
For the first time, a husband and wife will fight on the same card under the UFC banner. Mark De La Rosa will appear at UFC Rio Rancho this February, taking on Raulian Paiva. When he does, he’ll be sharing the card with wife Montana — and the couple will make history as the first husband and wife duo to grace the octagon in a single night.
MMA Junkie was first to report the addition of De La Rosa vs. Paiva to the Fight Night card. De La Rosa later confirmed the bout via social media. Wife Montana will face Mara Romero Borella that night.
De La Rosa (11–3) has lost two straight, to Kai Kara-France and Alex Perez. Those losses snapped a two fight win streak; overall, ‘Bumblebee’ is 2-3 in the UFC to date. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, De La Rosa trains with Factory X.
Paiva (18-3) fought on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, and made is debut in the octagon earlier this year. Like upcoming opponent De La Rosa, Paiva dropped a bout to Kai Kara-France, and lost his follow-up against Rogério Bontorin this past August.
The Brazilian entered the UFC under the worst possible circumstances, as his girlfriend was killed in an alleged intentional hit and run in his native Brazil in October 2018. Two suspects in the case, Elber Nunes Zacheu and Johny de Souza Amoras, are currently awaiting trial.
UFC Rio Rancho takes place February 15, 2020 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between top-ranked 205’ers Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz.
