Bellator 261: Liz Carmouche-Kana Watanabe Set For Co-Main Event

Former UFC title contender Liz Carmouche will take on undefeated Kana Watanabe in the co-main event of Bellator 261, officials announced recently.

Set for June 25 from Uncasville, Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun Arena, the main card airs live on Showtime with Tim Johnson nad Valentin Moldavsky meeting for the interim heavyweight title.

Along with Carmouche vs. Watanabe, Daniel Weichel faces Keoni Diggs and Christian Edwards meets Ben Parrish on the main card.

Carmouche, who spent five years serving in the United States Marine Corps, has picked up wins over DeAnna Bennett and Vanessa Porto since joining Bellator.

“I’m looking forward to getting back in the cage. I plan to end this fight with a dominant finish that stamps my name as the top contender for the belt,” Carmouche said.

Watanabe is a perfect 11-0 in her career and currently ranked third in the Bellator 125-pound division. 

“I am very grateful to be given another opportunity to fight during these hard times. Liz Carmouche has tons of experience and has constantly been fighting the best which makes her without a doubt one of the best in the world,” Watanabe said. “I fully respect her in every aspect and am truly honored to face such an athlete. With that being said, I am excited to take on this challenge to prove to everybody and myself that I have what it takes to become the best in the world. I want to win this fight in a convincing way, to open up the doors for a title challenge shot.”

BELLATOR MMA 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky Main Card:

SHOWTIME

9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT 

Interim Heavyweight Title Main Event: #1-Tim Johnson (15-6) vs. #3-Valentin Moldavsky (10-1)

Flyweight Co-Main Event: #2– Liz Carmouche (15-7) vs. #3-Kana Watanabe (10-0-1)

Featherweight Main Card Bout: #5- Daniel Weichel (40-12) vs. Keoni Diggs (9-0)

Light Heavyweight Main Card Bout: #10– Christian Edwards (4-0) vs. Ben Parrish (4-1)

Preliminary Card: 

BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV

5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT

Strawweight bout: Lena Ovchynnikova (12-6, 1 NC) vs. Kyra Batara (8-4)

Lightweight bout: #6-Myles Jury (19-5) vs. #7-Sidney Outlaw (15-4)

Lightweight bout: Søren Bak (14-1) vs. Bobby Lee (12-5)

Bantamweight Bout: Jaylon Bates (2-0) vs. Cody Matthews (1-1)

Middleweight Bout: Taylor Johnson (6-2) vs. Lance Wright (5-1)

Light Heavyweight Bout: Lee Chadwick (26-15-1) vs. Simon Biyong (7-1)