Outside Source
Diana Belbita will make her Octagon debut on the preliminary card of UFC on ESPN 6 on Friday when she faces Liverpool’s Molly McCann in Boston.
The Romanian fighter claims she doesn’t doesn’t feel any pressure for her upcoming milestone.
“I’m so close to the biggest step in my career, but I haven’t realized what’s going on in my mind right now, to be honest,” Belbita said. “I am not scared, but I’m not excited either. I don’t really feel anything different than usual. To me, this feels like any other match and I am glad about this. When I signed with the UFC, I was afraid my emotions would take over me before my debut, but it isn’t happening.”
A former Real Xtreme Fighting champion and Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki veteran, Belbita will put her four-bout winning streak on the line against McCann.
“The UFC is in a league of its own in the MMA world,” she said. “I’m that kind of fighter who always expects the best, but trains for the worst. I’m expecting this new level to be much harder than anything I faced before, but I took my training camp to the next level too. I’m fighting at the highest level in this game, but I also train with the best. I’m ready for this.”
“Meatball” McCann is coming off a couple of unanimous decision victories after besting Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Fight Night 147 and Ariane Lipski at UFC Fight Night 154.
“My opponent has a lot of experience,” Belbita said. “She has already fought three times in the UFC, winning two of these fights. I know she is very strong and she imposes her physical strength on her opponents. I’m expecting her to try and do the same against me. I think I’ll take her by surprise on Friday night. I suppose she studied closely my last fights, but what she doesn’t know is that I’ve changed since my last fight and I’ve improved a lot. I think she prepared for the immature Diana, but she will face a different side of mine. Now I feel mature and ready, especially in my ground game .”
The 23-year-old fighter will compete far from her own home country, but this doesn’t bother her.
“My home is always where my team is,” Belbita said. “For me, Canada is home now. I’m happy that I can fight near home, and that my team partners can be here to support me. I want to thank especially my coaches Alin Halmagean and Adrian Woolley for getting me in the best shape of my life. I know that I am not alone in this fight. I have a lot of people supporting me, and I want to thank from the bottom of my heart to all of them.”
UFC on ESPN 6 will go down at the TD Garden Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. The main event will feature a light heavyweight clash between former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and Dominick Reyes.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
