Following a submission loss to Dione Barbosa at UFC Vegas 105 over the weekend, UFC’s Diana Belbita, a former KSW title challenger, has announced her retirement.
In a statement issued on social media, Belbita (15-10), a Romanian living in and fighting out of Ontario, Canada, stated that it was time to start a new chapter.
“It was fun fighting at the highest level. I never even dared to dream that I will get there, but I ended up spending my last 6 years fighting for the best promotion in the world,” wrote Belbita. “It was a fun journey and I loved it. Now it’s time for me to start a new chapter.”
Belbita’s retirement does not come entirely as a surprise. Ahead of the fight, she suggested that there was a chance she might hang up the gloves in an interview with Cageside Press. Her last fight, as she pointed out, came 11 years to the day of her professional debut on April 5, 2014.
The fight at UFC Vegas 105 also marked Belbita’s return to the flyweight division, after spending the past few years competing as a strawweight – and eating as little as 400 calories a day to do so.
Belbita started her MMA career running up a 5-0 record in Romania; by 2017, she was 8-2 and fighting for the inaugural KSW women’s flyweight championship. She would lose that fight to “Queen of Violence” and future fellow UFC fighter Ariane Lipski, who should would eventually join under the UFC banner.
Inside the octagon, Diana Belbita earned wins over Hannah Goldy and Maria Oliveira. She spent over a year on the sidelines due to multiple injuries between February 2024 and her final fight earlier this month.
