J. Velasquez remains Bellator flyweight champion Photo: Instagram
The Bellator flyweight belt (up to 56,7kg) continues in Brazil. On Friday night (16), Brazilian Juliana Velasquez beat Dutch Denise Kielholtz in a split decision from the judges (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) after an exciting duel and continues her reign in the category. The show was held at the Mohegan Sun Arena, in Uncasville, Connecticut (USA).
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With the triumph, Juliana achieves her first title defense as flyweight leader. The Brazilian remains undefeated in professional MMA with a record of 12 wins in 12 fights.
On the other hand, the Dutch Denise Kielholtz has her streak of four consecutive victories broken and is once again feeling the bitter taste of defeat. The European fighter has six wins and two losses in her career.
The fight
The first minute of the duel occurred with the two athletes exchanging kicks. Denise tried to make an attack and Juliana went 'on a tangent'. The Dutch tried to close the distance but had difficulty due to the Brazilian's large wingspan. Even though he took more initiative, Kielholtz threw a lot of empty shots and was unable to find the Tupiniquim athlete within his range of action. 'Miss Dinamyte' hit two straight shots on the champion and ended the round with a slight advantage.
In the second round, Velasquez kept his distance but tried to strike more to score, on the other hand, Denise continued to pose a threat with counterattacks. The champion began to adopt the strategy of 'hitting and getting out' of her opponent's range of action and began to move more. The Brazilian athlete tried to take down Kielholtz, but was unsuccessful. The challenger tried to close the distance again to hit the Brazilian and was in great danger with this strategy.
The Dutchwoman returned from the break with more aggression and landed good clean blows on the Brazilian's face. Velasquez couldn't dodge her opponent's quick hands but she also responded with dangerous jabs that hurt her rival. In the final seconds of the round, the Brazilian athlete managed to take down for the first time in the fight but didn't have time to work on the ground.
In the fourth round, the Brazilian began aiming her blows at Kielholtz's left eye, which was swollen. The Brazilian fighter remained better on her feet, working well with her dangerous combination of jab and straight shot. The Dutch athlete tried to get closer to attack but the Brazilian managed to strike and move to keep her distance.
In the first seconds of the fifth round, Denise landed a blow that gave the Brazilian a slight jolt. The Tupiniquim athlete took a while to find the ideal distance again while the Dutchwoman returned more aggressive and landing more blows. Kielholtz showed more physical fitness in the final minutes and posed more danger to Velasquez. Juliana attempted another takedown but was calmly repelled by the challenger.
BELLATOR 262 RESULTS
MAIN CARD
Flyweight (up to 56,7kg): Juliana Velasquez defeated Denise Kielholtz via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) – Fight for the belt
Heavyweight (up to 120,2kg): Tyrell Fortune defeated Matt Mitrione by technical knockout at 1m45s of R1
Bantam weight (up to 61,2kg): Matheus Mattos defeated Cee Jay Hamilton via technical knockout 1:33 of R2
Featherweight (up to 65,7kg): Arlene Blencowe defeated Diana Silva by technical knockout 1m from R3
Middleweight (up to 83,9kg): Johnny Eblen defeated Travis Davis via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Heavyweight (up to 120,2kg): Said Sowma knocked out Ronny Markes 1m09s from R1
Featherweight (up to 65,7kg): Cody Law beat Theodore Macuka by technical knockout at 1m54s of R1
Flyweight (up to 56,7kg): Diana Avsaragova beat Gabriella Gulfin in a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Featherweight (up to 65,7kg): Adil Benjilany beat Johnny Soto by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Light weight (up to 70,3kg.): Charlie Campbell beat Nicholas Giulietti by technical knockout at 1m30s of R2
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