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FLYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION JULIANA VELASQUEZ DEFENDS HER TITLE AGAINST NO. 2 RANKED LIZ CARMOUCHE ON FIRST NIGHT OF THE BACK-TO-BACK EVENTS FRIDAY, APRIL 22
SATURDAY, APRIL 23 WILL SEE CRIS CYBORG DEFEND HER TITLE AGAINST NO. 1 RANKED ARLENE BLENCOWE & AN INTERIM BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE TILT BETWEEN JUAN ARCHULETA AND RAUFEON STOTS
THE TWO EVENTS FEATURE THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE BELLATOR BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD GRAND PRIX
LOS ANGELES – BELLATOR MMA has announced additional information on its return to the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where Honolulu’s Neal S. Blaisdell Arena will play home to a pair of events on back-to-back nights Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23. BELLATOR 278 is headlined by a Women’s Flyweight World Championship main event pitting undefeated Juliana Velasquez (12-0) against former U.S. Marine and No. 2-ranked flyweight Liz Carmouche (16-7).
Friday night’s BELLATOR 278 card is being held in honor of America’s Military, Veterans, First-Responders, and Medical Personnel all of whom are eligible to attend the event with a guest for free entry the day of with valid proof of ID. Free admission is based on a limited capacity and available on first come-first serve basis.
n addition, a pair of “Wild Card” matchups will be held, with the winner of each 135-pound contest officially punching their ticket into the one-million-dollar BELLATOR Bantamweight World Grand Prix. The first “Wild Card” fight features No. 8-ranked Josh Hill (21-4) facing Enrique Barzola (17-5-2) with the winner moving on to meet Magomed Magomedov in the quarterfinals. The second “Wild Card” contest will see #9-Jornel Lugo (8-0) take on Danny Sabatello (11-1) with the victor going on to face Leandro Higo. Dates for both pending quarterfinal matchups will be announced shortly.
The main card of Friday’s BELLATOR 278 event also features two additional marquee main card bouts, a light heavyweight pairing pitting Christian Edwards (5-1) versus Grant Neal (6-1), as well as a 160-pound contract weight scrap between Manny Muro (12-7) and Nate Andrews (16-4).
In the United States SHOWTIME will televise Friday night’s BELLATOR 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche main card at 4 p.m. HST local time, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while the preliminary fights will stream live on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel, SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 2 p.m. HST local time, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The complete bout listing for the event can be found below.
Saturday night’s BELLATOR 279 will feature a women’s featherweight world championship rematch pitting Cris Cyborg (25-2, 1 NC) against Australia’s No. 1-ranked Arlene Blencowe (15-8), who will look to claim gold in her third attempt at a world title and the launch of the highly anticipated one-million-dollar BELLATOR Bantamweight World Grand Prix. Former champion, No. 1-ranked Juan Archuleta (25-3) will challenge No. 3-ranked Raufeon Stots (17-1) for the interim bantamweight title, following the news that incumbent champion Sergio Pettis is on the shelf with an injury.
Also, at BELLATOR 279 on Saturday, No. 2-ranked Patchy Mix (15-1) takes on No. 5-ranked Kyoji Horiguchi (29-4) in a five-round BELLATOR World Grand Prix contest and Oahu’s own No. 1-ranked Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1) returns home to fight Justine Kish (7-5) at flyweight.
In the United States SHOWTIME will televise Saturday night’s BELLATOR 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2/Archuleta vs. Stots main card at 4:30 p.m. HST local time, 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT, while the preliminary fights will stream live on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel, SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV beginning at 2 p.m. HST local time, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The most up-to-date bout listing for the event can be found below.
BELLATOR MMA 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche Main Card:
Friday, April 22 – live on SHOWTIME
10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT/4 p.m. HST (local)
Flyweight World Title Bout: C-Juliana Velasquez (22-5) vs. #2-Liz Carmouche (16-7)
Bantamweight World Grand Prix Wild Card Bout: #8-Josh Hill (21-4) vs. Enrique Barzola (17-5-2)
Bantamweight World Grand Prix Wild Card Bout: #9-Jornel Lugo (8-0) vs. Danny Sabatello (11-1)
Light Heavyweight Bout: Christian Edwards (5-1) vs. Grant Neal (6-1)
160-Pound Contract Weight Bout: Manny Muro (12-7) vs. Nate Andrews (16-4)
BELLATOR MMA 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche Preliminary Card:
BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV
8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT/2 p.m. HST (local)
Featherweight Bout: Weber Almeida (5-1) vs. Fabricio Franco (8-4, 1 NC)
Bantamweight Bout: Jared Scoggins (10-2) vs. Cee Jay Hamilton (15-9)
Welterweight Bout: Makoa Cooper (1-0) vs. Blake Perry (pro debut)
BELLATOR MMA 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2 / Archuleta vs. Stots Main Card:
Saturday, April 23 – live on SHOWTIME
10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. HST (local)
Featherweight World Title Bout: C-Cris “Cyborg” (25-2, 1 NC) vs. #1-Arlene Blencowe (15-8)
Flyweight Bout: #1-Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (11-1) vs. Justine Kish (7-5)
Bantamweight World Grand Prix Opening Round Bout: #2-Patchy Mix (15-1) vs. #5-Kyoji Horiguchi (29-4)
BELLATOR MMA 279: Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2 / Archuleta vs. Stots Preliminary Card:
BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV
8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT/2 p.m. HST (local)
Lightweight Bout: Lance Gibson Jr. (5-0) vs. Nainoa Dung (4-2)
Featherweight Bout: #9-Justin Gonzalez (12-1) vs. Kai Kamaka III (9-4-1)
Welterweight Bout: Goiti Yamauchi (26-5) vs. Levan Chokheli (11-1)
Lightweight Bout: #6-Emmanuel Sanchez (20-7) vs. Yancy Medeiros (15-8, 1 NC)
Lightweight Bout: Keoni Diggs (9-1) vs. Bobby King (11-4)
120-Pound Contract Weight Bout: Randi Field (2-1) vs. Maraya Miller (1-1)
*Card subject to change.
Please visit Bellator.com for additional information.
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Updated schedule of BELLATOR MMA events
Fri. Apr. 15 // BELLATOR 277: McKee vs. Pitbull 2/Nemkov vs. Anderson // SAP Center // San Jose, Calif.
Fri. April 22 // BELLATOR MMA 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche // Neal S. Blaisdell Arena // Honolulu
Sat. April 23 // BELLATOR MMA 279: Pettis vs. Stots / Cyborg vs. Blencowe 2 // Neal S. Blaisdell Arena // Honolulu
Fri. May 6 // BELLATOR MMA 280: Bader vs. Kongo 2 // Accor Arena // Paris
Fri. May 13 // BELLATOR MMA 281: Amosov vs. MVP // The OVO Arena Wembley // London
Fri. Sep 23 // BELLATOR DUBLIN // The 3Arena // Dublin
BELLATOR MMA is a leading global mixed martial arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, BELLATOR events take place in major cities worldwide and can be seen on television in over 160 countries to an available audience of over one billion people. In the United States, BELLATOR can be seen on SHOWTIME. BELLATOR is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity, and commission relations. BELLATOR is based in Hollywood, Calif. and owned by entertainment giant Paramount, home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
About SHOWTIME
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