Liz Carmouche is defending the Bellator flyweight title against her most recently deposed woman: Juliana Velasquez.
MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz reports that Carmouche vs. Velasquez 2 will headline Bellator 289’s upcoming event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on December 9 .
Carmouche beat Velasquez at Bellator 278 this April. On all the judges’ scorecards, “Girl-Rilla” rallied through the fourth round of TKO and finished Velasquez, but the victory was shrouded in controversy. Despite Kamush’s crucifixion and repeated elbows, the former champion argued they “had no effect” and should not have stopped.
Velasquez appealed to have the loss overturned as a no-match, but was denied by the Hawaii State Boxing Commission. In its ruling, the committee agreed with referee Mike Beltran and his “decision to exercise caution” in stopping the game.
The newly crowned champion defends Beltran, who she believes “did the right thing” to prevent Velasquez from getting injured or unconscious . When asked if she was interested in an immediate rematch, Kamush was less enthusiastic and hoped to fend off new challengers in the division. It may have to wait, depending on the outcome of her upcoming rematch.
With the win over Velasquez, Kamush now leads 4-0 at Bellato. The Team Hurricane Awesome product also beat DeAnna Bennett, Vanessa Porto and Kana Watanabe.
Bellator 289 features Raufeon Stots and Danny Sabatello, one of two semifinals at the Bantamweight World Grand Prix.
