Bellator MMA is returning to Hawaii for another two-day event. The promotion will be hosting Bellator 294 and Bellator 295 at the Neil S. Blasdell Center in Honolulu on Friday, April 21 and Friday, April 22, respectively.
KHON2 reported that Liz Carmouche will defend her Bellator women’s flyweight championship in a rematch against DeAnna Bennett on the first night. On the second night, Raufeon Stots and Patchy Mix will face off in the final round of the $1 million Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix.
Carmouche is 5-0 in her Bellator career, including a successful debut against Bennett and a pair of title wins against former champion Juliana Velasquez. Bennett has gone 3-0 since the loss to Carmouche.
Bellator 295 will be a special night for Stots. The interim bantamweight champion made his Bellator debut in Honolulu in 2019. He also defeated Juan Archuleta with a stunning head kick in Honolulu last year to become the interim champion. A subsequent win over Danny Sabatello put Stots within reach of the $1 million tournament prize. Mix, on the other hand, was a dark horse in the tournament. He shocked everyone by defeating tournament favorite Horiguchi in Hawaii last year and then suffocated Magomed Magomedov to secure his spot in the finals.
Bellator will feature a number of Hawaiian fighters on both cards. Yancy Medeiros, who made a successful Bellator debut in Hawaii last year, will fight Charlie Leary. Former flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will compete on the main card. Additionally, Keoni Diggs, Kai Kamaka III and Sumiko Inaba are all expected to participate.
Bellator ran a similar pair of events last year. Bellator 278 and Bellator 279 took place at the same Honolulu venue on back-to-back nights in April 2022. Carmouche controversially defeated Velasquez on night one to win the Bellator flyweight championship. Cris Cyborg successfully defended her women’s featherweight championship against Arlene Blencowe later that weekend.
