Montana De La Rosa joins the Professional Fighters League after her departure from the UFC. The 30-year-old fighter has signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion, marking a change in her career after more than seven years of competing in the octagon.
Montana De La Rosa signs with the PFL
De La Rosa ended her UFC stint with a record of 6-5-1 in twelve appearances and began her journey with the promotion in December 2017. Her departure from the UFC came after a March 2025 event that fell through. She was scheduled to face Luana Carolina, but the fight was canceled when Carolina missed weight by a significant margin. Although De La Rosa won her last UFC fight against Andrea Lee in June 2024 via split decision, she was not re-signed after the canceled bout. The promotion paid her out instead, marking the end of her time there.
Throughout her UFC career, De La Rosa collected wins over notable fighters including Andrea Lee, Ariane da Silva and Rachael Ostovich. Her most important achievement came on February 10, 2019, when she defeated Nadia Kassem at UFC 234 by armbar submission and earned the Performance of the Night bonus. She also competed on The Ultimate Fighter 26 as a semifinalist and earned her spot on the UFC roster after the show aired in 2017.
De La Rosa was born in Helena, Montana, on February 14, 1995, and spent her formative years in Azle, Texas. She started wrestling at Azle High School and received a scholarship to Oklahoma City University, although as a teenage parent she returned to Texas to study kinesiology at Tarrant County College. She discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu after graduating in 2013 and switching to MMA in 2014. Before joining the UFC, she competed on the regional circuit and held the Xtreme Fighting League flyweight championship with a 7-4 record.
The move to the PFL places De La Rosa in a competitive women’s flyweight division. She enters a field with established names such as Dakotcha Ditcheva, Liz Carmouche, Juliana Velasquez and Taila Santos. The division also recently added Viviane Araujo and Ariane da Silva. De La Rosa is expected to debut in the coming months, although no specific fight details have been announced.
For De La Rosa, the signing is an opportunity to compete at a high level outside of the UFC ecosystem. The PFL has expanded its women’s flyweight roster in recent months, creating opportunities for fighters moving between organizations. With an overall mark of 13-9-1 in her MMA career, De La Rosa brings submission skills and decision-making ability to the upcoming matchups. Her finishing percentage shows eight wins by submission and one knockout, indicating that her ground game remains a core part of her fighting approach.
Story first reported by Nolan King MMA junkie.
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