It’s going to be a while before Alexis Dufresne debuts in Bellator.
The former UFC fighter is pregnant and out of her Bellator 137 fight with Arlene Blencowe, Bellator officials confirmed with MMAFighting.com on Friday morning. Bloody Elbow was the first to report the story.
Dufresne (5-2) was a top prospect coming into the UFC last year, but lost two straight, the most recent a dominant unanimous decision victory by Marion Reneau at UFC 182 in January. The 24-year-old was a multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion before embarking on an MMA career.
Dufresne, 24, fought in the UFC at 135 pounds and missed weight twice. Clearly miscast at that weight class, the Temecula, Calif., native was going back up to 145 pounds for Bellator. “Sneaky Zebra” would have taken on Blencowe at Bellator 137 on May 15 in her hometown at Pechanga Resort Casino.
Now, it looks like Dufresne will be out of action for a bit before making her first Bellator appearance. Blencowe (5-4), who was also to make her Bellator debut next month, is in limbo right now. The decision has not been made on whether she will remain on the card.
Bellator 137 is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Brandon Halsey and UFC veteran Kendall Grove. Eduardo Dantas and Mike Richman meet in the co-main event to decide Bellator’s next bantamweight challenger.