NORWICH, Conn. – Juliana Velasquez may not have gotten exactly what she was hoping for in the aftermath of her title loss, but Friday she’ll get the next best thing.
Velasquez (12-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) lost the women’s flyweight title to Liz Carmouche (17-7 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) at Bellator 278 in April in Honolulu. Carmouche took the belt with a TKO from unanswered elbows late in the fourth round. But Velasquez thought the stoppage was premature and lobbied to have the result overturned.
That didn’t happen, but the Bellator brass decided the Brazilian was worthy of a crack at redemption without having to work her way back up. Velasquez will challenge Carmouche for the title in the Bellator 289 co-main event Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
“I was frustrated – I didn’t think (the stoppage) was fair,” Velasquez told MMA Junkie through a translator at a Tuesday media day ahead of the promotion’s final card of the year. “I even had ‘Big’ John McCarthy writing on the appeal that I made to the commission. That didn’t go through. I expected it to. But I don’t have any extra feelings toward Liz because of this. I don’t feel like it’s a rivalry or anything. It’s just about myself and trying to right this wrong and get the belt back and become the champion again.”
Carmouche said Tuesday she thinks Velasquez should’ve had to go back into the queue and win a fight before she got another title shot. But she also said she could tell fairly early after she beat Velasquez that Bellator probably was going to give Velasquez a rematch.
Velasquez found a little amusement with the idea Carmouche thinks she’s undeserving of a rematch coming off a loss – and thinks her performance in April right up until she got caught is why.
“That’s her opinion, and only her opinion – nothing more than that,” Velasquez said. “I think the reason I’m getting this immediate rematch is everyone saw a mistake was committed that night. Of course she doesn’t want to fight me right away because she was losing every single minute of that fight until the end when (the referee) made the mistake. So she can think whatever she wants.”
Velasquez was about a -140 betting favorite over Carmouche in their first fight. In Friday’s rematch, even though Carmouche won in April to take the belt, Velasquez is even more of a favorite. She’s -180 at Tipico Sportsbook.
Check out the full media day interview with Velasquez above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 289.
