Watch and discuss tonight’s Bellator 259 card, starting at 5:30 PM ET.
The Bellator MMA women’s featherweight title is on the line tonight (Friday, May 21) from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
In the main event of Bellator 259, reigning champion Cris Cyborg rematches Leslie Smith, five years removed from when Cyborg’s UFC debut ended in a first-round TKO over Smith at a 140 lbs catchweight. This time the stakes are much higher and the fight is actually at featherweight. The co-main event is former Bellator bantamweight champ Darrion Caldwell against Leandro Higo in a rematch of their 2018 title fight, which Caldwell won by guillotine. Higo missed weight for tonight’s bout, which is the standard three rounds.
It all starts with a free live stream of the prelims at the top of the page at 5:30 PM ET/2:30 PM PT. Showtime has the main card at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. You can watch the main card on Bellator’s YouTube channel if you live in Canada or in other international jurisdictions. BBC iPlayer has this card for streaming in the United Kingdom.
Main Card (Showtime at 9 p.m. ET)
Cris Cyborg def. Leslie Smith via TKO (strikes) – Round 5, 4:50
Leandro Higo def. Darrion Caldwell via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Austin Vanderford def. Fabian Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jaleel Willis def. Maycon Mendonca via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Hannah Guy def. Valerie Loureda via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (Online, 5:30 p.m. ET)
Saad Awad def. Nate Andrews via KO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:16
Grant Neal def. Tyree Fortune via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:20
Sumiko Inaba def. Kristina Katsikis via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 3:35
Aviv Gozali def. Sean Felton via submission (heel hook) – Round 1, 1:17
Davion Franklin def. Tyler King via KO (punch) – Round 1, 2:02
Leah McCourt def. Janay Harding via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:42
Danny Sabatello def. Brett Johns via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alexander Shabliy def. Alfie Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)