Juliana Velasquez vs. Liz Carmouche flyweight title fight set for Bellator 278 in Hawaii

Liz Carmouche will get another chance to become a world champion next month.

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting on Tuesday that Carmouche will challenge Juliana Velasquez for the Bellator flyweight championship at Bellator 278. The event takes place April 22 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. MMA Junkie was first to report the booking.

Velasquez has won all 12 of her pro bouts, including a 7-0 start to her Bellator career. The No. 4 ranked 125-pounder in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings captured the title with a unanimous decision win over Ilimi-Lei Macfarlane at Bellator 254 in December 2020. Velasquez successfully defended her title against Denise Kielholtz this past July at Bellator 262 via split decision.

Since coming over to Bellator from the UFC, Carmouche has won all three of her promotional contests — including finishes of Kana Watanabe and DeAnna Bennett. “Girl-Rilla” had two championship opportunities — including the first women’s title fight in UFC history against Ronda Rousey at UFC 257 — and came up short, with the most recent coming via unanimous decision to Valentina Shevchenko in August 2019.

Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.