Bellator_261
Bellator 261
Bellator mixed martial arts event in 2021
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]
| Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The poster for Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | June 25, 2021 (2021-June-25) | |||
| Venue | Mohegan Sun Arena | |||
| City | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
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]
| 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 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| 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.
- 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.