Night one of Bellator’s double feature in Honolulu, Hawaii arrived on Friday, with Bellator 278.
Topped by a women’s flyweight title fight, it was the thinner of the two cards planed for the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena this weekend — but it came with a couple of particularly compelling storylines. The obvious one was the main event; Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche felt as if they’d been on a collision course for the past couple of years. Velasquez was the undefeated champion, Carmouche a two-time UFC title challenger looking at what was perhaps her last shot at gold in a major promotion.
The other storyline of interest was the launch of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix, with two wild card fights unfolding at Bellator 278. One saw Enrique Barzola, fresh off a win over former champ Darrion Caldwell, paired up with promotional newcomer Nikita Mikhailov. The other saw Danny Sabatello take on Jornel Lugo, it what had become something of a grudge match ahead of the fight.
Winners of the wild card fights would officially join the grand prix, and enter quarterfinal bouts later this summer. The Barzola vs. Mikhailov winner will face Magomed Magomedov, while the Sabatello vs. Lugo victor was due for a date with Leandro Higo.
Bellator 278 goes down Friday, April 22, 2022 live in Honolulu, Hawaii. The main card airs live on Showtime; for viewers outside Bellator’s broadcast footprint, a live stream is available below. Prelims stream online, and can be viewed in the embed above. Full results are below.
Bellator 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche Results
Main Card
Liz Carmouche def. Juliana Velasquez (c) by TKO, Round 4, 4:47 – for the Bellator women’s flyweight championship
Enrique Barzola def. Nikita Mikhailov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – Bellator bantamweight grand prix wild card bout
Danny Sabatello def. Jornel Lugo by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) – Bellator bantamweight grand prix wild card bout
Grant Neal def. Christian Edwards by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Manny Muro def. Nate Andrews by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Weber Almeida def. Fabricio Franco by TKO, Round 1, 3:01
Dante Schiro def. Scotty Hao by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 3, 1:03
Blake Perry def. Makoa Cooper by submission (anaconda choke), Round 2, 4:14
