Bellator 261
| Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | June 25, 2021 | |||
| Venue | Mohegan Sun Arena | |||
| City | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 25, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.[1][2]
Background
With current heavyweight champion Ryan Bader moving on in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament, Timothy Johnson and Valentin Moldavsky competed for an Bellator Interim Heavyweight World Championship.[3]
A title eliminator women's flyweight bout between Liz Carmouche and Kana Watanabe served as the co-main of the event.[4]
A light heavyweight bout between Christian Edwards and Ben Parrish was scrapped after weigh-ins at Bellator 259 after Edwards wasn't cleared to compete by the Mohegan Sun Athletic Commission.[5] After being cleared by a commission doctor on May 26, 2021, the bout was rebooked for this event.[6]
The reigning WBC Muaythai World Featherweight champion Lena Ovchynnikova was scheduled to fight Kyra Batara in the event prelims.[7] However, the bout was cancelled the week of the event with one of Batara's corner testing positive for COVID-19.[8][9]
A featherweight bout between Keoni Diggs and two-time Bellator Featherweight title challenger Daniel Weichel was announced for the main card.[10]
A middleweight bout between Taylor Johnson and Lance Wright was to take place at Bellator 260.[11] However, a week before the event it was announced that it was moved to this event.[12]
Light heavyweight bouts between Simon Biyong and Lee Chadwick and Christian Edwards and Ben Parrish were scheduled for this show. However, Chadwick tested positive for COVID-19 and Parrish had to pull out of the bout, so Biyong and Edwards were matched with each other.[13]
Results
| Main Card (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Valentin Moldavsky | def. | Timothy Johnson | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Women's Flyweight | Liz Carmouche | def. | Kana Watanabe | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:35 | |
| Lightweight | Sidney Outlaw | def. | Myles Jury | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 4:44 | |
| Featherweight | Daniel Weichel | def. | Keoni Diggs | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Christian Edwards | def. | Simon Biyong | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (Youtube/Pluto TV) | |||||||
| Featherweight | John de Jesus | def. | John Macapá | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Taylor Johnson | def. | Lance Wright | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:58 | |
| Bantamweight | Jaylon Bates | def. | Cody Matthews | Submission (armbar) | 2 | 4:04 | |
| Lightweight | Corey Samuels | def. | Isaiah Hokit | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:10 | |
| Lightweight | Søren Bak | def. | Bobby Lee | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- ^ For the interim Bellator Heavyweight World Championship.
See also
- 2021 in Bellator MMA
- List of Bellator MMA events
- List of current Bellator fighters
- Bellator MMA Rankings
References
- ^ Anderson, Jay (2021-05-07). "Bellator 261 Adds Johnson vs. Moldavsky Interim Title Fight, Three More Bouts". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ "Johnson, Moldavsky set June 25 interim title bout". ESPN.com. 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ Heck, Mike (2021-05-07). "Tim Johnson vs. Valentin Moldavsky set for promotion's first interim heavyweight title fight at Bellator 261". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- ^ "Liz Carmouche vs. Kana Watanabe co-headines Bellator 261 on June 25". MMA Junkie. 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ Lee, Alexander K. (2021-05-20). "Christian Edwards vs. Ben Parrish bout at Bellator 259 cancelled, Valerie Loureda vs. Hannah Guy promoted to main card". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ "Christian Edwards receives medical clearance for heart, canceled fight rebooked for Bellator 261". MMA Junkie. 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
- ^ Gonzalez, Gabriel. "Bellator 261: Kyra Batara A New Person Ahead of Return Against Lena Ovchynnikova". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ @BellatorPR (June 22, 2021). "Lena vs. Batara scrapped" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @KyraBatara (June 22, 2021). "Lena vs. Batara Covid" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ King, Nolan. "Bellator 261 adds Daniel Weichel vs. Keoni Diggs to lineup". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Kyle Crutchmer vs. Levan Chokheli added to Bellator 260 on June 11". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Taylor Johnson Instagram Bout Move". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25.
- ^ "BELLATOR Confirms Full Fight Card for BELLATOR 261". FIGHT SPORTS. 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
- ^ "Bellator MMA |Bellator 261". www.bellator.com. Retrieved 2021-06-17.