Bellator 294 weigh-in results: DeAnna Bennett misses for flyweight title fight, another fighter heavy by over 6 pounds

DeAnna Bennett picked the worst possible time to miss weight.

The would-be flyweight title challenger came in 1.2 pounds over the limit for her Bellator 294 headlining bout against champion Liz Carmouche. Bellator officials announced Carmouche is still putting her title on the line, with the belt becoming vacant should she lose on Friday night.

This is the second time that Carmouche and Bennett have faced one another and the second time that Bennett has missed weight for this matchup. The two previously fought at Bellator 246 in September 2020, with Bennett missing weight for that non-title fight by 5.7 pounds. Carmouche defeated Bennett by third-round submission.

Bennett appeared twice during the official weigh-in window, first registering at 127.2 pounds and then 127 on a second attempt later on. She was given until 10 a.m. Honolulu time to make a third attempt prior to the start of the ceremonial weigh-ins, but was once again over at 126.2 pounds.

Bennett will also surrender 30 percent of her purse as penalty for failing to make weight.

Watch video of the ceremonial weigh-ins above.

Historically, Bennett has struggled with the scale, having logged several weight misses across Bellator and Invicta FC competing at flyweight and strawweight.

Bennett’s miss wasn’t even the most egregious of the day as Cris Lencioni weighed in at 152.4 pounds for a featherweight bout, 6.4 pounds over the limit (including the one-pound allowance for non-title fights). Lencioni’s opponent Blake Smith also came in slightly heavy at 146.4 pounds.

See Bellator 294 official weigh-in results below:

Main Card (10 p.m. ET on Showtime)

Liz Carmouche (125) vs. DeAnna Bennett (126.2)*

Tim Johnson (262) vs. Said Sowma (239.2)

Arlene Blencowe (146) vs. Sara McMann (145.6)

Danny Sabatello (135.6) vs. Marcos Breno (136)

Levan Chokheli (169.6) vs. Michael Lombardo (170.8)

Preliminary Card (7 p.m. ET on MMA Fighting)

Killys Mota (156) vs. Ken Cross (155.2)

Tyrell Fortune (259.6) vs. Sergey Bilostenniy (240)

Cris Lencioni (152.4)** vs. Blake Smith (146.4)**

Anthony Adams (185.6) vs. Sharaf Davlatmurodov (185.4)

*Bennett missed weight for her flyweight title fight with Liz Carmouche. The bout will proceed as a catchweight with only Carmouche eligible to leave the cage with her belt. Should Carmouche lose, the title will be vacated

**missed weight