Bellator 294 (Credit: Bellator MMA)
Bellator MMA returns to Hawaii in April with championship double header: Raufeon Stots vs Patchy Mix, Liz Carmouche vs DeAnna Bennett
Bellator MMA is heading back to Hawaii for a weekend of back-to-back events with two title fights on the line. In a press release distributed by the promotion on Wednesday, it was announced that Bellator 294 will take place on April 21 and Bellator 295 will take place on April 22 with both nights being headlined by title fights. The news of the stacked weekend was first reported by Rob DeMello of KHON in Hawaii.
To begin the weekend at Bellator 294, reigning women’s flyweight champion Liz Carmouche will defend her title against DeAnna Bennett in a rematch from their fight back in 2020 at Bellator 246, which was Bennett’s promotional debut. Since that fight, DeAnna Bennett has gone 3-0 in the flyweight division, most recently picking up back-to-back wins over Justine Kish and making it clear for her last fight that she wouldn’t be denied a future title shot.
It has also been an undefeated run for champion Liz Carmouche since her first fight against Bennett, as she has gone 5-0 since their first meeting, including winning the title from Julianna Velasquez and successfully defending the title against her as well.
In the co-main event of Bellator 294, a heavyweight fight between 6th-ranked Tim Johnson and challenger Said Sowma. There will also be a women’s featherweight contender fight as former UFC veteran Sara McMann makes her promotional debut with Bellator MMA and faces second-ranked Arlene Blencowe, with the winner likely to have the opportunity to face Cris Cyborg for the undisputed featherweight title.
Bellator 295 will also feature a main event title fight as the Bantamweight World Grand Prix Final will take place between interim champion Raufeon Stots and second-ranked contender, Patchy Mix. The winner of the World Grand Prix will not only become the tournament champion, but they will hold the interim bantamweight title belt and face champion Sergio Pettis at a later date, and win the $1 million grand prize.
The co-main event for Bellator 295 will be a homecoming return for former champion Ilima Lei-Macfarlane who will face second-ranked Kana Watanbe in a high-stakes flyweight matchup.
Not all fights are finalized for the events but Bellator MMA did release some fights scheduled for the prelim card on Bellator 295 and they are as follows:
- Davion Franklin vs Kasim Aras
- Yancy Mederios vs Charlie Leary
- Bobby King vs Aalon Cruz
- Keoni Diggs vs Weber Almeida
- Kai Kamaka III vs Adli Edwards
- Sumiko Inaba vs Veta Arteaga
