Luana Carolina Finally Free to Fly

A variety of factors once conspired to curtail Luana Carolina’s development in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She claims to have put them all in her rearview mirror through trial and error.

“Dread” kicks off what she hopes will be a career-defining 2025 campaign when she faces Montana De La Rosa as part of the UFC Fight Night 253 undercard on Saturday at the UFC Apex and Las Vegas. Issues with injuries and the scale—she has missed weight twice—have slowed the 5-foot-7 Brazilian’s rise within the women’s flyweight division.

“Those types of problems have been addressed,” Carolina told Sherdog.com. “My height makes it tricky to put on muscle, so my training focuses on the right amount of lean muscle mass.” The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate has not fought more than twice in a calendar year since 2015. “I feel that over the last three years, the fact that I didn’t fight more often was not due to anything I did. I would have loved to have fought three times a year.”

De La Rosa, a three-time All-American wrestler in high school, provides her next challenge. The 30-year-old Elevation Fight Team rep was a quarterfinalist on Season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series and owns a 6-5-1 record across her 12 appearances in the UFC. De La Rosa last competed at UFC on ESPN 57, where she put an end to a three-fight losing streak with a split decision over former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Andrea Lee on June 8.

“She’s a very experienced fighter,” Carolina said. “She’s more dangerous on the ground. She has great takedowns. I believe that she’ll welcome striking exchanges, but her focus will be on ground fighting. It’s where she’s best. Most of my opponents have tried to take me down, believing it’s the easier path. She’ll try to bang it out, but in the end, she’ll want to take me down.”

Carolina, meanwhile, steps back into view on a run of three straight victories. She last suited up on July 20, when she laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over Lucie Pudilova at UFC on ESPN 60. Carolina hopes to build on her momentum at De La Rosa’s expense.

“I’m focused on getting my fourth win in a row,” she said. “I very much want to face someone in the Top 15. I’ve been asking for that for a while. The main thing is to have a good fight and get into the rankings after that.”