Dione Barbosa often embraces difficult choices. After all, she chose judo at the age of 7, left home as a teenager to pursue a higher level in the discipline, started to incorporate Brazilian jiu-jitsu training into her routine and eventually transitioned to mixed martial arts. Now, Barbosa gets a chance to reap some rewards for those decisions.
The Brazilian flyweight will make her Ultimate Fighting Championship debut opposite the unbeaten Ernesta Kareckaite as part of the UFC 301 undercard this Saturday at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Barbosa, 31, enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak, having punched her ticket to the UFC with a first-round armbar submission of Rainn Guerrero on Week 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series in September.