Bellator MMA kicked off its two-night stint at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii on Friday with Bellator 294: Carmouche vs. Bennett 2.
The rematch between women’s flyweight champion Liz Carmouche and the #4 ranked fighter in the division, DeAnna Bennett, had been nearly three years in the making. The pair first met in 2020, with Carmouche winning via submission in the third round following a Bennett injury, later revealed to be a torn hamstring.
Neither fighter had lost since that first encounter, leading to a much higher-profile match-up in the Bellator 294 main event. However, Bennett threw a wrench in the works on Thursday, missing weight for the card — leaving Carmouche, the promotion’s reigning women’s 125lb champ, the only fighter eligible to win the title.
Should Bennett win Saturday night’s main event bout, the title would then be vacated.
Also on Friday night’s Honolulu card, bantamweight grand prix semifinalist Danny Sabatello returned, taking on Marcos Breno, while Sara McMann, a former UFC title challenger, made her debut in Bellator, moving to featherweight to take on three-time title challenger Arlene Blencowe. The co-main event, meanwhile, would see ranked heavyweights Tim Johnson and Said Sowma collide.
Full results from Bellator 294, which takes place on Friday, April 21, 2023, can be found below. A live stream of the preliminary card action, getting underway at 8:25PM ET, is above; the Bellator 294 main card live stream, where available, is below.
Bellator 294: Carmouche vs. Bennett 2 Results
Main card
Liz Carmouche (c) def. DeAnna Bennett by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 4, 4:29 — for the Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship (only Carmouche eligible to win the title)
Timothy Johnson def. Said Sowma by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sara McMann def. Arlene Blencowe by unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Danny Sabatello def. Marcos Breno by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:10
Levan Chokheli def. Michael Lombardo by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary card
Killys Mota def. Kenneth Cross by submission (rear-naked choke), Round, 2 2:14
Tyrell Fortune def. Sergey Bilostenniy by DQ (illegal strikes), Round 1, 3:26
Cris Lencioni def. Blake Smith by submission (inverted triangle), Round 2, 3:39
Sharaf Davlatmurodov def. Anthony Adams by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
