Montana De La Rosa is one of the more promising flyweight prospects in the UFC. The 24-year-old is undefeated in the Octagon, not counting exhibition bouts on The Ultimate Fighter.
De La Rosa is coming off of an impressive submission win over the formerly undefeated Nadia Kassem at UFC 234. For De La Rosa, that fight went as good as it could have.
“I really wanted to showcase my standup more,” De La Rosa told BJPENN.COM. “I know I will get to with other opponents but it just felt so easy to get the takedown and control her and not get touched. So it went pretty much as good as possible.”
On top of that, De La Rosa was able to give Kassem her fight loss as a pro which was a unique experience for her.
“I was feeling very confident I was going to win that fight,” she said. “I knew she only had a little bit of strength on the feet as she does have some knockouts. But, to give her her first loss felt good as it is the first time I have beaten an undefeated fighter. It felt great for my confidence.”
To top the fight off, De La Rosa got a performance bonus for her submission win. It was her first bonus in the UFC. Although she has shown she is dominant on the ground and can submit anyone, in her next fight she is hoping to showcase her entire arsenal.
“I want to be considered one of the most well-rounded. I want to showcase all my skills,” De La Rosa said. “It’s not like I have only been doing jiu-jitsu. But that is all I have been able to show in the past few fights. I definitely want to get an opponent where I can show everything. That will most likely be a top-10 fighter. Anyone outside of that I know I can dominate and get the submission. I know at the top-10 I will have to use all my tools.”
If De La Rosa can do that in her next fight and get another win, she knows she’ll be closing in on a title shot. In fact, she believe she could argue her case for a shot right now.
“I think I could be making my case now or in my next fight,” she explained. “However, I do want to get in there and get that ring time and just better myself so when I do get the chance to fight for the belt that I am ready and be able to hold it for awhile.”
For now, De La Rosa is awaiting her next fight. She was supposed to fight Paige VanZant but said that isn’t happening. Now, Montana De La Rosa wouldn’t mind fighting a veteran next to really test her skills.
Know for sure, whoever she fights next De La Rosa is looking for a finish. She is 3-0 inside the UFC with three finishes and is proud to now be considered a finisher.
“That looks really good on me and my record,” she said. “It makes them want to put me on the main card even more because it will be an exciting fight and I will be looking for the finish.”
Who do you think Montana De La Rosa should fight next?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/4/2019.