| 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]
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 | [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 | |
