Bellator: Hawaii will feature an important flyweight showdown between Juliana Velasquez and Bruna Ellen.
Bellator’s return to the Hawaiian Islands is bringing a key women’s flyweight fight with it. Top 125lb’ers Bruna Ellen and Juliana Velasquez will face off at the event, which is headlined by flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defending her title against Kate Jackson. Bellator officials confirmed this latest fight with Cageside Press, following an initial report by Hawaii’s own KITV.
With Jackson getting the title shot, Velasquez vs. Ellen holds promise as a potential title eliminator. Velasquez (9-0) is coming off a TKO finish of Kristina Williams earlier this year. That marked her third win under the Bellator MMA banner — with five of her nine wins overall ending in a finish.
Ellen also fought Williams, in November of last year, coming up short in that fight. However she bounced back against Elina Kallionidou in July at Bellator 224, winning via unanimous decision.
3-1 in her past four fights, Ellen holds a win over recent title challenger Veta Arteaga. Arteaga, it should be noted, also remains in the mix for another title shot. That’s after putting on a solid showing against Macfarlane at Bellator 220 in April, before a nasty cut opened up off an elbow ended her night early.
Bellator: Hawaii takes place December 21, 2019 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. A.J. McKee meets Derek Campos in the co-main event, as part of Bellator’s featherweight grand prix.
