Liz Carmouche vs Juliana Velasquez (Credit: Lucas Noonan/BELLATOR MMA)
Liz Carmouche vs Juliana Velasquez flyweight title rematch set for Bellator 289
A flyweight title rematch between Liz Carmouche and Juliana Velasquez is set to take place at Bellator 289 in December.
A flyweight title rematch between champion Liz Carmouche and former champion Juliana Velasquez has been scheduled to take place later this year at Bellator 289. Bellator MMA announced the fight on Wednesday, which will now be the second title fight of the event with the interim bantamweight title fight between Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello taking the main event slot.
There was controversy in the first matchup between the two at Bellator 278, as Velasquez was looking to defend her title and improve her undefeated record, but the fight was stopped with just 13 seconds to go by referee Mike Beltran, as Liz Carmouche laid down numerous elbows. Noting that she didn’t feel the fight should be stopped and she was ahead on the judges’ scorecards at the time of the finish, Velasquez filed an appeal to the Hawaii athletic commission, though it was rejected and the fight stayed as officiated.
Following her departure from the UFC in 2019, Liz Carmouche has had an undefeated run with Bellator MMA, picking up wins over the likes of DeAnna Bennett, Vanessa Porto, Kana Watanabe, and the championship victory over Juliana Velasquez earlier this year. The 12-year professional has been a trailblazer in the sport, having competed against Ronda Rousey for the inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight title back at UFC 157 in 2013.
A veteran of Bellator MMA since 2017, Juliana Velasquez has had quite the run with the promotion since she began. Picking up sevens win since her arrival with three finishes to her credit, and notable victories over former champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, Bruna Ellen, and Denise Kilholtz before the loss to Carmouche.
The Bellator 289 card is set to take place on December 9 at the Mohegan Sun Arena, with the two title fights being featured. Also featured on the card will be another fight in the Bantamweight World Grand Prix as Patchy Mix will face Magomed Magomedov for a chance to advance to the finals, and face the winner of Stots vs Sabatello.
Here is how the Bellator 289 event is currently scheduled:
- Raufeon Stots vs Danny Sabatello (Interim Bantamweight Title Fight)
- Liz Carmouche vs Juliana Velasquez (Women’s Flyweight Title Fight)
- Magomed Magomedov vs Patchy Mix (Bantamweight World Grand Prix)
- Cody Law vs Cris Lencioni
- Mark Lemminger vs Michael Lombardo
