Heather Hardy and Ana Julaton are set to face each other — in two different sports.
Among an absolute tidal wave of Bellator info ahead of Saturday’s big Bellator 192 card in Los Angeles comes news that boxing champ Heather Hardy is returning to the cage. Per a report by MMA Fighting, Hardy will face fellow boxing star Ana Julaton in the cage at Bellator 194 in February. Down the road from that date, the pair will also meet in a boxing match.
Per the report, the two fights came together as part of a deal featuring Bellator MMA, Hardy’s DiBella Entertainment promotional company and Julaton’s Orion Sports Management. The two boxing promoters will serve as co-promoters for the boxing event, and also co-promote the Bellator 194 fight.
Hardy (1-1) last appeared at Bellator 185, where she suffered a bloody TKO finish at the hands of Kristina Williams. Prior to that, she’d won her debut at Bellator NYC in New York last June, against Alice Yauger. Hardy, who is 20-0 (1 NC) in boxing, was an instant crossover success story upon joining Bellator MMA. She holds the current WBC International female featherweight championship.
With slightly more MMA experience than Hardy, rival Ana Julaton (2-3) is a veteran of ONE Championship, where she went 2-2. She lost her Bellator MMA debut against Lisa Blaine at Bellator 185. With a record of 14-4-1 in boxing, she’s a former WBO World female super bantamweight champ.
Bellator 194 takes place February 16 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Roy Nelson faces Matt Mitrione in the main event, part of the Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix 2018.
