Montana De La Rosa Moves to the PFL After UFC Exit
Montana De La Rosa is joining the Professional Fighters League following her departure from the UFC. The 30-year-old fighter has signed a multifight deal with the promotion, marking a shift in her career trajectory after more than seven years competing in the octagon.
Montana De La Rosa Signs with the PFL
De La Rosa finished her UFC stint with a record of 6-5-1 across 12 appearances, starting her journey with the promotion in December 2017. Her exit from the UFC came after a March 2025 event that fell through. She was scheduled to face Luana Carolina but the bout got canceled when Carolina missed weight by a significant margin. Although De La Rosa won her final UFC fight against Andrea Lee in June 2024 via split decision, she was not re-signed following the canceled match. The promotion instead paid her out, which marked 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 significant 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, earning 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, though she returned to Texas as a teenage parent to pursue kinesiology at Tarrant County College. She discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu after graduating in 2013 and transitioned into 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 puts De La Rosa in a competitive women’s flyweight division. She enters a field that includes established names like 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 coming months, though specific bout details have not been announced.
For De La Rosa, the signing is an opportunity to compete at a high level outside the UFC ecosystem. The PFL has expanded its women’s flyweight roster in recent months, creating opportunities for fighters moving between organizations. At 13-9-1 overall in her MMA career, De La Rosa brings submission skills and decision-making ability to the matchups ahead. Her finish rate shows eight wins by submission and one knockout, indicating her ground game remains a core part of her fighting approach.
Story first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie.
