| Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Bellator MMA | |||
| Date | May 21, 2021 | |||
| Venue | Mohegan Sun Arena | |||
| City | Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by Bellator MMA at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The event featured a Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the champion Cris Cyborg and Leslie Smith. They previously met at UFC 198, which was Cyborg's UFC debut, where she won by TKO in the first round. [1]
A bantamweight bout between Brett Johns and Matheus Mattos was announced as part of the event. [2] On May 13, it was announced that Mattos had pulled out from the bout after contracting COVID-19 and was replaced by former Titan FC Bantamweight Champion Danny Sabatello. [3]
A middleweight contest between the #3 ranked Austin Vanderford and #4 ranked Fabian Edwards also took place at the event. [4]
Former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Darrion Caldwell made his return to bantamweight against Leandro Higo on the main card. [5]
A women's flyweight bout between Valerie Loureda and Hannah Guy was set for Bellator 258, but was moved to this event. [6]
A lightweight bout between Alfie Davis and Alexandr Shabliy took place at the event as part of the undercard. [7]
Two additional lightweight bouts were added to the preliminary portion of the card, as Saad Awad took on Nate Andrews, [8] while Aviv Gozali faced Sean Felton. [9]
A women's featherweight bout between Leah McCourt and Janay Harding also took place during the preliminary fights. [10]
Two ranked light heavyweights, the #8 ranked Tyree Fortune and #6 ranked Grant Neal, faced off on the prelims. [11]
A lightweight bout between Georgi Karakhanyan and Adam Piccolotti was expected to take place at this event. [12] However, Piccolotti pulled out due to injury and the bout was canceled. [13]
At the weigh-ins, Leandro Higo and Leah McCourt missed weight for their respective bouts. Higo weighed in at 137.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. McCourt weighed in at 149.4 pounds, three and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. Both their bouts proceeded at catchweight and they were fined a percentage of their purses, which went to their respective opponents, Darrion Caldwell and Janay Harding. [14]
A light heavyweight bout between Christian Edwards and Ben Parrish was scrapped after weigh-ins after Edwards wasn't cleared to compete by the Mohegan Sun Athletic Commission. As a result, Valerie Loureda vs. Hannah Guy was promoted to the main card. [15] After being cleared by a commission doctor on May 26, the bout was rebooked for Bellator 261. [16]
| Main Card (Showtime) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Women's Featherweight | Cris Cyborg (c) | def. | Leslie Smith | TKO (punches) | 5 | 4:51 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Catchweight (137.5 lb) | Leandro Higo | def. | Darrion Caldwell | Decision (split) (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Middleweight | Austin Vanderford | def. | Fabian Edwards | Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Jaleel Willis | def. | Maycon Mendonça | Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Hannah Guy | def. | Valerie Loureda | Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (Youtube/Pluto TV) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Saad Awad | def. | Nate Andrews | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:16 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Grant Neal | def. | Tyree Fortune | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 4:20 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Sumiko Inaba | def. | Kristina Katsikis | TKO (punches) | 3 | 3:35 | |
| Lightweight | Aviv Gozali | def. | Sean Felton | Submission (heel hook) | 1 | 1:17 | |
| Heavyweight | Davion Franklin | def. | Tyler King | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:02 | |
| Catchweight (149.4 lb) | Leah McCourt | def. | Janay Harding | Submission (triangle choke) | 2 | 2:42 | [lower-alpha 3] |
| Bantamweight | Danny Sabatello | def. | Brett Johns | Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Alexandr Shabliy | def. | Alfie Davis | Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Georgi Karakhanyan is a Russian born Armenian-American former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Karakhanyan has competed for the Bellator MMA, Absolute Championship Berkut, World Series of Fighting, DREAM, Tachi Palace Fights, and King of the Cage. Karakhanyan is also the former WSOF Featherweight Champion.
Darrion Caldwell is an American retired mixed martial artist and graduated collegiate wrestler, who competed in the bantamweight division. He formerly competed in Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Legacy FC. As a folkstyle wrestler, Caldwell was the 2009 NCAA Division I National Champion, and a two-time All-American at 149 pounds out of the North Carolina State University. He was also a four-time ACC Conference champion.
Thomas Brett Johns is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of PFL. Prior to signing with PFL, Johns competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA at bantamweight. A professional competitor since 2012, he has also formerly competed for Cage Warriors and Titan FC, and was Bantamweight Champion for both promotions.
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