Appearing for the first time since earning the Bellator Flyweight Championship, Liz Carmouche will face former titleholder Juliana Velasquez on December 9th, per Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
The fight is joining Bellator 289, which is scheduled to take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
Carmouche dethroned Velasquez in April, stopping her in the fourth round of a title fight. The result of the bout quickly became controversial, as many wondered if the referee’s choice to stop the bout due to ground and pound strikes came too early.
Velasquez was among the many critics of the stoppage. She attempted to appeal the fight’s result to the Hawaii State Boxing Commission, although the governing body decided to keep the original ruling in place.
The fight was Velasquez’s first pro loss. She previously attained 12 wins, including seven victories in the Bellator cage.
Velasquez had a somewhat short reign as champion, defending her belt just once before dropping it to Carmouche this year.
Carmouche, a former UFC fighter, has yet to lose since joining Bellator in 2020. She attained a trio of victories in the Bellator cage prior to the title fight, including a 35-second win against Kana Watanabe.
A trio of high-profile Bellator bouts are now expected for their December 9th show. Here is how the lineup looks now:
Bout 3: Raufeon Stots (18-1) vs. Danny Sabatello (13-1) (Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix Semi-Final Bout)
Bout 2: Liz Carmouche (17-7) vs. Juliana Velasquez (12-1) (Bellator Flyweight Championship)
Bout 1: Magomed Magomedov (19-2) vs. Patchy Mix (16-1) (Bellator Bantamweight Grand Prix Semi-Final Bout)
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