UFC fighter drops a bombshell - and pulls the ripcord
Hamilton (Canada) - Diana Belbiţă (28) made her debut in the UFC in October 2019. Almost six years later, it's now over: the 28-year-old is turning her back on the world's largest mixed martial arts organization.
As the Romanian surprisingly announced on the social media platform Instagram, she had made the decision to no longer fight in the Okatgon of the US professional league.
"It was fun to fight at the highest level. I never even dared to dream that I would make it, but I've spent the last six years fighting for the best promotion in the world," she began her post published on Tuesday, before going on to officially announce her retirement to her more than 400,000 subscribers.
"It's been a fun journey and I've loved it. Now it's time to move on to a new chapter," she concluded, without giving the exact reasons for her early departure.
Just three days earlier, Belbiţă was not granted a victory in her fight against Brazilian Dione Barbosa (32) at "UFC Vegas 105". The 32-year-old South American had forced her to give up in the middle of the first round with a skillful blood choke.
It remains to be seen whether Belbiţă will remain in the martial arts world after all - or whether she will retire from boxing once and for all. The latter is unlikely, however, as she has been fascinated by fighting from an early age.
MMA fighter Diana Belbiţă announces UFC retirement on Instagram
In an interview with "Fanatik.ro", she once expressed plans for her future, without denying a possible position as a presenter: "I've always seen and felt the cage from the inside, but I never knew what it was like to be so close to the action and talk about every aspect of a fight. When I watch an MMA event on TV, I always commentate on the action, even if I'm alone and no one can hear me," the athlete , who lives in the Canadian city of Hamilton and has previously commented on combat sports events, told the online portal.
"I'm comforted by the thought that the little mistakes I'll make, as well as the European accent, are part of my naturalness, and that's what the organizers want."
In her career as a UFC fighter, Belbită has competed in a total of eight fights, but has only won a meagre two of them.