Juliana Velasquez: “I think I would be clinching a bit more, her striking didn’t surprise me, but I felt that I did enough to retain the title.”
“I beat her with my jab, if you look at her face, it’s messed up, if you look at mine, my face is fine. I think people in the audience favor her because she has a kickboxing style and I counter, but I think it was my boxing that was the difference tonight.”
“When I come in here, I don’t think of myself as a champion, I think of myself as someone who needs to earn the belt and tonight I felt that I did that.”
#5–Tyrell hmoov (11-1, 1 NC) yeej #7-Matt Mitrione (13-9, 1 NC) ntawm cuav (ntaus) ntawm 1:45 ntawm puag ncig ib Tyrell hmoov: “I feel great coming out of the fight. He stepped forward so I went for the shot instead of throwing the punch and I guess I made contact with my head. Besides that I was running through him for the takedown. As you saw, I finished on top, and the fight went from there.
“I didn’t feel it (the clash of heads), I can only go off of what he was saying at the time. Zoo li kuv hais tias, I was just looking to get on top and continue to fight so I didn’t really know what else to do. I thought if there was a contact that the ref would have saw and we would have stopped that’s why I paused for a second on top of him. I didn’t go right to punching. Once the ref said to continue, I was continuing to fight.
“I want Tim Johnson. I don’t want a title shot. I’d rather have Tim Johnson first. That’s really the only fight I’ve been training for since that loss. Rau kuv, with him taking that loss (against Valentin Moldavsky) and me getting this win, it should line us right up… I’m gonna’ try to knock his a– out just like he did me.”
Matheus Mattos (13-2-1) yeej Cee Jay Hamilton (15-9) ntawm TKO (ntaus) ntawm 1:33 ntawm round ob
Matheus Mattos: “He’s a wrestler. Yog li ntawd, he could have done the boring game and taken me down. But he chose to go for the striking. Qhov zoo ces, he did it because it was a beautiful knockout. If Bellator could send more strikers to me, then they would be welcomed.”
"Kuv xav tias zoo, perfectly strong. But I felt my knee go ‘thwack.’ And I stopped moving a lot. I didn’t do much footwork. I knew this was going to be on my hands, because my leg was painful. Hopefully, everything went well.
“My two losses were to two of the best in the world. Yog li ntawd, I’ve been fighting at a high level a long time and I’m prepared for everyone. They can see that this fight welcomed me to Bellator, and now they know me. They know Matheus Mattos is a striker and he’s coming for us.
“I’m in my prime now so I’m prepared for everyone.”
Arlene Blencowe: "Kuv xav tias zoo. I want to give a shout out to my kids at home. I’ve been away from home for nine weeks and it’s the longest I’ve ever been without my kids. Yog li ntawd, this win is for you.”
“I was just trying to gauge my distance. It was starting to be a little bit of a slow fight, so sorry about that fans. I could hear you yelling. But I was determined to keep my pace and not rush into anything. We knew that she swung with power and that the overhand right and the left hook came pretty quick. We’ve been working a lot on kicks, and I’m going to have a lot of bruises tomorrow. And hopefully her calves will be sore too.”
#5-Johnny Eblen(9-0) yeej Travis Davis (10-5) ntawm unanimous kev txiav txim siab (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) Johnny Eblen: “My coaches when I came back to the corner told me not to brawl. Yog li ntawd, I took their advice and I thought I wrestled smart.”
“He was talking s— hais tias, 'Hav, let’s brawl in the corner.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, that’s stupid.’ That’s why you’re not where I’m at. Because you don’t fight smart. You’re trying to come out here and brawl. You can do that all you want, but you’re not going to be a world champion like me.”
Preliminary Card: Hais sowma (7-2) yeej Ronny Markes (19-9) ntawm KO (punches) ntawm 1:09 ntawm puag ncig ib Cody Txoj Cai (4-0) yeej Theodore Macuka(1-1) ntawm TKO (punches) ntawm 1:54 ntawm puag ncig ib Diana Avsaragova (4-0) yeej Gabriella Gulfin (2-3) ntawm cais kev txiav txim siab (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Adil Benjilany(6-3, 1 NC) yeej Johnny Soto (4-2) ntawm unanimous kev txiav txim siab (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Charlie Campbell (4-1) yeej Nicholas Giulietti(2-2) ntawm TKO (punches) ntawm 1:30 ntawm round ob
UNDEFEATED FLYWEIGHT CHAMPION JULIANA VELASQUEZ AND NO. 3 RANKED DENISE KIELHOLTZ SQUARE OFF FOR 125-POUND STRAP WHILE TOP-10 HEAVYWEIGHTS TYRELL FORTUNE AND MATT MITRIONE MEET IN THE CO-MAIN EVENT.
LOS ANGELES – BELLATOR MMA has confirmed the full fight card forBELLATOR MMA 262: Velasquez vs. Kielholtzrau Friday, Lub Xya hli ntuj 16at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The event airs LIVE on SHOWTIME at9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PTand is headlined by undefeated flyweight world championJuliana Velasquez (11-0) versus BELLATOR Kickboxing’s Flyweight World Champion and No. 3 ranked Denise Kielholtz (6-2) for the promotion’s 125-pound belt.
In addition to the must-see main event, four other exciting main card bouts are confirmed forBellator 262 on SHOWTIME, including No. 5 ranked Tyrell hmoov (10-1, 1 NC) taking on former New York Giants football star and No. 7 ranked Matt Mitrione (13-8, 1 NC) ntawm Heavyweight, a women’s featherweight matchup between No. 2 ranked former title challengerArlene Blencowe (13-8) and Brazil’sDayana Silva(9-6), a men’s heavyweight contest pitting No. 4 ranked Linton Vassell (20-8, 1 NC)versus BELLATOR newcomerMarcelo Golm (8-3), thiab undefleed tsis muaj. 5 ranked Johnny Eblen (8-0) txojkev tiv thaiv Travis Davis (10-4) in an explosive middleweight bout to open the main card.
The preliminary card is confirmed for six bouts and features a heavyweight slugfest between knockout artistRonny Markes (19-8) thiab Hais sowma (6-2), as well as a featherweight contest pitting undefeated top prospectCody Txoj Cai (3-0) tiv thaiv Theodore Macuka (1-0). Nyob rau hauv tas li ntawd, South Florida’sRoman faraldo (5-0) welcomesJohn Ramirez (5-5) to the fray in a welterweight clash, while Team Pitbull Brothers-productMatheus Mattos (12-2-1) faces off againstCee Jay Hamilton (15-8) in a bantamweight battle. Kawg, Johnny Soto (4-1) thiab Adil Benjilany (5-3, 1 NC) square off in a 145-pound matchup and the undefeatedDiana Avsaragova (3-0) yuav siv sij hawm nyob rau hauv Gabriella Gulfin (2-2) in a flyweight showdown.
All prelims will stream live at6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT Nyob rau Bellator MMA YouTube, Showtime kev ua kis las YouTube thiab pluto tv. Full bout listings are below:
SHOWTIME streaming service is offering a 30-day free trial, followed by a discounted monthly subscription fee of $4.99/month for the next six months. Viewers can sign up atSHO.com/BellatorMMA. Subscribers will be delivered two live premier BELLATOR MMA events per month throughout 2021 thiab tshaj, anywhere the SHOWTIME service is available.
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BELLATOR MMA 262: Velasquez vs. KielholtzMain Card: Friday, Lub Xya hli ntuj 16 – Live on SHOWTIME 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
Flyweight World Title Main Event: C-Juliana Velasquez (11-0) vs. #3-Denise Kielholtz (6-2) Heavyweight Bout: #5–Tyrell hmoov (10-1, 1 NC) vs. #7-Matt Mitrione (13-8, 1 NC) Heavyweight Bout: #4-Linton Vassell (20-8, 1 NC) vs. Marcelo Golm (8-3) Featherweight Bout: #2–Arlene Blencowe (13-8) vs. Dayana Silva (9-6) Middleweight Bout: #5-Johnny Eblen(8-0) vs. Travis Davis (10-4)
Preliminary Card: Bellator mmA youtube channel | ShowTime Kev Ua Si YouTube channel | Pluto TV 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT Bantamweight Bout: Matheus Mattos (12-2-1) vs. Cee Jay Hamilton (15-8) Heavyweight Bout: Ronny Markes (19-8) vs. Hais sowma (6-2) Featherweight Bout: Cody Txoj Cai (3-0) vs. Theodore Macuka(1-0) Welterweight Bout: Roman faraldo (5-0) vs. John Ramirez (5-5) Flyweight Bout: Diana Avsaragova (3-0) vs. Gabriella Gulfin (2-2) Featherweight Bout:Johnny Soto (4-1) vs. Adil Benjilany(5-3, 1 NC) *Daim npav yuav hloov pauv.
