Bellator 278: Liz Carmouche Stumps for 130lb Division, Wants to Fight in Japan
At 38, after years of pursuing a world championship, the moment arrived for Liz Carmouche at Bellator 278. A fourth-round TKO saw Carmouche (17-7) claim the women's flyweight title from Juliana Velasquez. The finish did, however, raise eyebrows, with Velasquez...
Bellator 279: Patchy Mix Believes Submission Game Key Against Horiguchi
Patchy Mix enters the bantamweight grand prix a sizable underdog against former champ Kyoji Horiguchi, and he's ready to prove the odds-makers wrong. Mix (15-1) heads into Bellator 279 on a two-fight win streak, and it's Horiguchi in the cross-hairs....
Bellator 279’s Ilima-Lei Macfarlane: Pressure Off After “Kind of Mellow” Fight Camp Ahead of...
Including Saturday itself, it will have been 500 days since we last saw Ilima-Lei Macfarlane competing inside the Bellator MMA cage. It's something that caught the former flyweight champ herself by surprise. "I wasn't even aware that it was that...
Bellator 278: Nikita Mikhailov Proud to Represent Fedor Team
Russian newcomer Nikita Mikhailov will enter a bantamweight grand prix wild card fight on Friday night, stepping into the Bellator 278 card on short notice. It's his first fight with the promotion, with Mikhailov (9-1) filling in for Josh Hill...
Bellator 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2 Weigh-In Results
A busy weekend in the combat sports world saw Bellator MMA hosting back-to-back shows in Honolulu, Hawaii. The second of those shows, Bellator 279, was set to arrive on Saturday, with a women's featherweight title fight atop the card. That...
Bellator 279: Kyoji Horiguchi “Just Thinking About Payback” Ahead of Grand Prix
Bellator's Kyoji Horiguchi was winning his bantamweight title fight against Sergio Pettis late last year, right up until he wasn't. A former 135 pound champion in both Bellator MMA and RIZIN, at Bellator 272 Horiguchi was seeking to reclaim the...
Bellator 279: Justine Kish Questioned If She Was Being Used As “Tomato Can” After...
Justine Kish is making a relatively short turnaround, about eight weeks, as she returns to the Bellator cage this Saturday at Bellator 279. Keeping the momentum rolling has been a struggle for Kish (7-5) throughout her MMA career. The opportunity...
Bellator 278: Enrique Barzola Believes Past Tournament Experience, Caldwell Win Gives Him Edge in...
Former UFC fighter and TUF winner Enrique Barzola heads into the bantamweight grand prix this Friday, as part of two wild card fights. For Barzola (17-5-2), who was originally outside of the grand prix until injuries struck Sergio Pettis and...
Bellator 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche Weigh-In Results
Bellator MMA heads to Hawaii this weekend, returning to the island state for the first time since 2019. Two big back-to-back shows feature a combined three title fights, plus the launch of the promotion's bantamweight grand prix. Up first, Bellator...
Bellator 278: Liz Carmouche Sees “Zero” Evolution in Champ Juliana Velasquez’s Game
Liz Carmouche has no problem if Bellator women's flyweight champ Juliana Velasquez is, in fact, overlooking her. Velasquez told Cageside Press during the Bellator Hawaii media day on Wednesday that Carmouche, a former two-time UFC title challenger, was not the...