This weekend’s Bellator action is a stacked, two-day double feature headlined by some of the best women’s mixed martial arts has to offer.
Friday’s Bellator 278 is headlined by flyweight champion Juliana Velasquez against women’s MMA pioneer Liz Carmouche.
On Saturday, one of the GOATs of women’s MMA returns as featherweight champion Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino takes on her newest challenger, Arlene Blencowe.
Both events are in Honolulu, Hawai’i this weekend at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. Main cards start at 8 p.m. EDT.
Bellator 278: Velasquez vs Carmouche
Champion Velasquez (12-0 MMA, 7-0 Bellator) will look to defend the 125-pound belt for the second time Friday night against Carmouche (16-7 MMA, 3-0 Bellator).
Velasquez won the flyweight belt in December of 2020 against Honolulu’s own Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, who has her own fight against Justine Kish on Saturday’s card. Velasquez beat Macfarlane by unanimous decision to take home the Bellator strap.
The 35-year-old Brazilian made her Bellator debut back in 2014 and has never tasted defeat in her entire MMA career. However, she has come close a couple of times.
In her one title defense against Bellator kickboxing’s flyweight champion Denise Kielholtz, the fight went the distance. Velasquez squeaked by with a split decision victory.
Her last five fights have seen four going to the judges with two split decisions. Her other split decision came against the 9-4 Alejandra Lara.
Friday’s matchup will arguably be one of the biggest fights in Velasquez’ career so far. Carmouche is a tough MMA veteran not to be overlooked.
How To Watch:
Main Card on Showtime at 9 p.m. Prelims on YouTube at 7 p.m.
Carmouche is a 38-year-old from Lafayette, Louisiana, who trains out of San Diego and has fought with the best fighters in women’s MMA.
Carmouche fought in the first-ever women’s UFC bout against Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 in 2013. She lost that fight by submission but the bout cemented her place in MMA history fairly early in her long career.
The UFC vet has also fought in Invicta and Strikeforce. She has notable wins over current UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and top contenders Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy, Katlyn Chookagian, and Jennifer Maia. All four women are the last four fighters to lose to Shevchenko. Carmouche is the fifth after losing to Shevchenko in their rematch.
Carmouche is currently unbeaten in her three Bellator fights. She has scored victories over DeAnna Bennett, Vanessa Porto, and Kana Watanabe.
The main event should be a close, tough fight for the two top flyweights. Both women are prone to going the distance in their tougher matchups in recent years so a judge’s decision this weekend is not out of the question. However, two out of Carmouche’s three Bellator fights have been finishes.
The question remains to be answered this Friday: Can Carmouche become a professional MMA champion for the first time in her career? Or will Velasquez continue her unbeaten streak and move on to the next chapter of her career with the belt still around her waist? We will find out when that cage door closes on Friday night.
Juliana Velasquez | Liz Carmouche |
|
|---|---|---|
35 | Age | 38 |
5'7'' | Height | 5'6'' |
125 lbs | Weight | 125 lbs |
67.5 inches inches | Reach | 66 inches |
Denise Kielholtz: W (Dec.) | Last 5 | Kana Watanbe: W (TKO) |
Ilima-Lei Macfarlane: W (Dec.) | Vanessa Porto: W (Dec.) | |
Bruna Ellen: W (Dec.) | DeAnna Bennett: W (Sub) | |
Kristina Williams: W (TKO) | Valentina Shevchenko: L (Dec.) | |
Alejandra Lara: W (Dec.) | Lucie Pudilova: W (Dec.) |
Full card betting odds for Bellator 278
Main Card
Flyweight: Juliana Velasquez vs Liz Carmouche
Bantamweight: Nikita Mikhailov vs Enrique Barzola
Bantamweight: Jornel Lugo vs Danny Sabatello
Light Heavyweight: Christian Edwards vs Grant Neal
Catchweight: Nate Andrews vs Manny Muro
Prelims
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev vs Zach Zane
Welterweight: Dante Schiro vs Scotty Hao
Featherweight: Weber Almeida vs Fabricio Franco
Bantamweight: Cee Jay Hamilton vs Erik Perez
Welterweight: Makoa Cooper vs Blake Perry
Bellator 279: Cyborg vs Blencowe 2
Saturday night’s Bellator card features the return of one of MMA’s greatest fighters in Cyborg.
The current Bellator Featherweight Champion is also a former champion of the UFC, Strikeforce, and Invicta.
Cyborg (25-2-1 MMA, 4-0 Bellator) returns to the Bellator circle to defend her belt against Blencowe (15-8 MMA, 6-2 Bellator) in a rematch. Their first bout was in October of 2020 when Cyborg submitted Blencowe in the second round with a rear-naked choke.
Cyborg, a massive favorite in the matchup, has one of the most extensive and impressive resumes in MMA. Her experience as a champion in four different organizations means she has fought just about everyone her weight class has had to offer since her pro debut in 2005.
The two losses on the champion’s resume? Current UFC featherweight champion/former bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and Erica Paes, who was Cyborg’s first-ever opponent in her pro career, earning her a record of 0-1 at the time.
Since that first fight, Cyborg had faced and beat the likes of Julia Budd, Holly Holm, Gina Carano, Felicia Spencer, Leslie Smith, and most recently Sinead Kavanagh.
But being a massive favorite doesn’t guarantee a victory as MMA fans saw last year in the UFC when Julianna Pena finished Nunes at UFC 269 to become the bantamweight champ in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
How To Watch:
Main Card on Showtime at 9 p.m. Prelims on YouTube at 7 p.m.
No. 1-contender Blencowe is looking to get this one back and add a victory over Cyborg to her own resume. Since their first fight, she has back-to-back wins over Dayana Silva and Pam Sorenson. Blencowe has also fought almost all of the contenders Bellator currently has to offer. She has wins over Smith and Kavanagh herself.
The Australian boxing champion (4-4 boxing) began her MMA career in 2013. Blencowe will more than likely look to keep the fight standing and use her striking to her advantage while trying to keep Cyborg at a distance.
Blencowe has proven vulnerable on the ground with five of her eight losses coming by way of submission. So, look for Cyborg to attempt to overwhelm Blencowe early, taking her to the ground and trying to drown her with wrestling and jiu-jitsu.
What’s next for Cyborg should she win on Saturday? Well, Kayla Harrison resigned to the Professional Fighter’s League so that blockbuster matchup is almost off the table for now, unless Bellator and PFL can work out a cross-promotion event like Bellator has done with Rizin.
Either Cyborg or Blencowe could face No.3-ranked Cat Zingano with a victory. Zingano is 2-0 in Bellator since joining the promotion in 2020 after an unsuccessful UFC run.
Regardless, those who tune in can be assured one of two things on Saturday night: either they will get to witness the continued reign of one of the greatest fighters or they will witness the next biggest upset in MMA history.
Cris Justino | Arlene Blencowe |
|
|---|---|---|
36 | Age | 39 |
5'8'' | Height | 5'6'' |
145 lbs | Weight | 145 lbs |
68 inches inches | Reach | 66 inches |
Sinead Kavanagh: W (KO) | Last 5 | Pam Sorenson: W (Dec.) |
Leslie Smith: W (TKO) | Dayana Silva: W (TKO) | |
Arlene Blencowe: W (Sub) | Cris Justino: L (Sub) | |
Julia Budd: W (TKO) | Leslie Smith: W (Dec.) | |
Felicia Spencer: W (Dec.) | Amanda Bell: W (KO) |
Full Betting Odds for Bellator 279
Main Card
Featherweight: Cris Cyborg vs Arlene Blencowe
Bantamweight: Juan Archuleta vs Raufeon Stots
Flyweight: Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs Justine Kish
Bantamweight: Kyoji Horiguchi vs Patchy Mix
Prelims
Lightweight: Lance Gibson Jr. vs Nainoa Dung
Featherweight: Kai Kamaka III vs Justin Gonzales
Welterweight: Goiti Yamauchi vs Levan Chokheli
Lightweight: Yancy Medeiros vs Emmanuel Sanchez
Lightweight: Keoni Diggs vs Bobby King
Catchweight: Randi Field vs Maraya Miller
Featherweight: Janay Harding vs Dayana Silva
Bantamweight: Ryan Dela Cruz vs Jordan Winski
Flyweight: Sumiko Inaba vs Whittany Pyles
