Liz Carmouche To Defend Her Bellator Title Vs. Juliana Velasquez

Liz Carmouche will defend her Bellator flyweight title against Juliana Velasquez later this year.

The two headline Bellator 289 on December 9 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The main card will air live on Showtime.

Carmouche vs. Velasquez has been added to a night that already includes Raufeon Stots defending his interim title in the Bantamweight World Grand Prix vs. Danny Sabatello.

Also, Patchy Mix will face Magomed Magomedov in the other grand prix semifinal.

Prelim fights will see Michael Ombardo meet Mark Lemminger and Cody Law take on Cris Lencioni.

Widely regarded as a pioneer of women’s mixed martial arts, Carmouche will make the first defense of her newly captured title in an immediate rematch against former titleholder Velasquez.

A quick glance at Carmouche’s recent in-cage exploits will show that the 38-year-old has turned back the clock since signing with Bellator in 2020. A professional since 2010, Carmouche has looked dominant on her current four-fight winning streak.

The 35-year-old Brazilian believes the referee’s stoppage in her fight with Carmouche was premature, and at the time of the finish, Velasquez was up 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 across the judges’ scorecards.

Velasquez will look to prove the ending of their last fight was a fluke, and an immediate rematch gives the former Brazilian national judo champion and jiu-jitsu purple belt an opportunity to get back the lone loss of her professional MMA career, regaining her one-time title in the process.