Montana De La Rosa says it’s ‘nerve-wracking and exciting’ to share card with husband

Montana and Mark De La Rosa will make history at UFC Rio Rancho this Saturday as they will become the first wife and husband duo to compete on the same card.

Mark opens up the card when he takes on Raulian Paiva. Montana, meanwhile, is on the main card against Mara Romero Borella.

Montana isn’t sure if she will be in Mark’s corner, as she admits it is nerve-wracking for her.

“I was debating on that and I think I’ll hang back because I get really nervous for his fight. I don’t want all those nerves happening right before my fight. It would be too much for me mentally. He’s fighting second or first on the card and I’m fighting on the main card so I’ll just hang out and go to the venue later,” De La Rosa said to BJPENN.com. “I don’t want to have all those nerves back-to-back. I will see how it goes on the day if [I will even watch his fight] we will see.”

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1227399510978109441

Although she doesn’t know if she’ll be in his corner, there are mixed emotions about sharing the card together. They know they are making history but for Montana, she admits it is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. But once they both get their hand raised it will be well worth it.

“It is definitely nerve-wracking and exciting. After we both get the wins it will be amazing as we have put in so much work and have both been helping each other,” she explained. “It also has been really hard in home life with both of us being in fight camp. It’ll be worth it when we get those wins and have our bank account really high.”

Montana De La Rosa is making her return to the Octagon since June of last year when she lost to Andrea Lee. Since then, she had two surgeries and admits it has been a difficult time for her. But, the time off has allowed her to reflect on her career and knows she wants to be a fighter.

“I actually had two surgeries as I had nerve damage in my elbow. Then I had a broken nose,” she said. “I had to correct my nose because I had a lot of trouble breathing as I couldn’t even breathe out of my nose for a while. I can actually breathe out of my nose now so I feel a lot better now.

“It was like 100 degrees or something and I wasn’t allowed to be active so I was pretty much in bed for two months. It ended up being the longest layoff ever and it helped me realize that I was happy fighting and want to keep fighting,” De La Rosa. “Sometimes I get too caught up in training and get kind of exhausted with it. But, sitting there not being able to train made me realize I want to train.”

Against Borella, Montana De La Rosa is confident she will get her hand raised and believes she will earn yet another finish.

The 24-year-old has finished all three of her UFC wins and wants to be known as a finisher.

“I go into every fight hoping to get a stoppage. I don’t like going all the rounds. I’d rather just go in and get it over with,” she said. “It is going to be exciting and I’m just ready wherever it goes. She is going to want to take me down. She thinks she’ll be able to control me but I’ve seen it all. I think I’ll be able to edge out the win.”

In the end, should De La Rosa get her hand raised, she doesn’t care who is next as she knows she’ll get the top eventually.

“Getting this win will get me in the top-10 and get me back on track. I really don’t care about anything else, just keep winning and keep climbing the ranks. Just keep winning and I’ll get to the top,” she concluded. 

Who do you think will win between Montana De La Rosa and Mara Romero Borella?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/12/2020.