Las Vegas, NV — Mark De La Rosa had no concern about being cut by the UFC, even after losing three straight bouts.
While that might be a bit surprising — 0-3 is a bit of a cursed number in the promotion — De La Rosa (11-4) explained his reasoning ahead of his bout against Jordan Espinosa, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press.
“No, not really,” he said, asked if he’d had any fear of being cut after his last loss. Opponent Espinosa, himself 0-2, had expressed just such a fear earlier in the day. “I train hard, I don’t really backlash the company. I’ve done a lot of favors for the company taking short-notice fights. A lot of the media don’t see what goes on behind the scenes, they just see the results of Fight Night. And it sucks when you come up short, but at the end of the day I’m always coming to win, and it’s a fight man, anything can happen.”
The key to staying positive, he told Cageside Press, was being grateful. “I’m just super super grateful for the opportunity. I’m able to step in the cage. I’m able to do what I love every single day. All I’m able to do, besides all this quarantine stuff, is train, teach, coach, and better myself. And better people around me.”
“I’m always grateful for the opportunity to wake up healthy and do what I love,” he reiterated.
De La Rosa is part of the UFC’s first fighting married couple. Wife Montana competes in the flyweight division. Home life doesn’t get too focused on fighting, although it is a big part of what the family is about.
“It’s pretty laid back. My daughter’s a wrestler too. So we’re constantly all training,” said De La Rosa. “All we do is eat, sleep, train. But my daughter’s a big Tik Tok’er. So she occupies us when we’re home, eating dinner and stuff. You’d think we’d be talking about fights and wrestling, but we’re just watching her do some crazy Tik Toks and dances and stuff. She’s our entertainment show whenever we’re at the house.”
UFC on ESPN 10 takes place this Saturday, June 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV. The card airs live on ESPN and ESPN+ (TSN in Canada).
