NORWICH, Conn. – Liz Carmouche would rather be fighting a new opponent for her first Bellator title defense, but is ready to turn away Juliana Velasquez for the second time.
In the co-main event of Bellator 289, Carmouche (17-7 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) will put her flyweight title on the line for the first time against former champ Velasquez (12-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) in an immediate rematch. The event takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena, and airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
At Bellator 278, Carmouche locked Velasquez in a crucifix position and began raining down elbows. Immediately after referee Mike Beltran stopped the fight, Velasquez began protesting the stoppage, despite being unable to improve her position. For some, the result was controversial. Others, like Carmouche and her team, thought it was on to the next opponent for her first title defense.
“I’ve rewatched the tape, my coaches rewatched the tape, everybody went through everything and there was no doubts in any of our minds,” Carmouche told MMA Junkie and other reporters at media day Wednesday. “So I thought, alright cool, there’s not going to be a rematch. There’s women that are already scheduled, and in my mind, you have to come off a win to be able to fight to be able to be a contender for the belt.”
With Velasquez seeking to overturn the result, the rumblings and rumors of a rematch continued to grow louder. Carmouche and her team began preparing for the inevitability of facing Velasquez again. Soon enough, the official news came, which did not sit well.
“Just with a different outcome, like if it would have been I eye gouged her and she was eligible for a rematch, yeah, that absolutely makes sense in my mind,” Carmouche said. “(If) I kicked her in the groin, it was a rematch – those are circumstances where I understand, like yeah, that warrants it. But not when you’re not moving on the ground and I’m elbowing you 12 unanswered elbows. Just doesn’t really make sense in my mind.
“So, I thought it was going to be a different woman, and in my mind, that’s a lot more exciting to me is a new opponent. Somebody that’s fresh, some things different, different style, so I can also grow more. When you’re fighting the same opponent, it’s not really a lot of growth. It’s kind of limited to what they do, what they don’t do. When it’s a different opponent and a different style, it just excites me more, because I get to show a different part of my game.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.
