Things got off to a rocky start for DeAnna Bennett ahead of her rematch against current women’s Flyweight champion, Liz Carmouche, at Friday night’s (April 22, 2023) Bellator 294 event in Honolulu, Hawaii. That’s because “Vitamin D” missed weight on her first and second attempts, coming in at a final weight of 126.2.
As a result of her scale fail she will not be eligible to win the belt should she prove victorious. But in an added twist (a first of its kind), Liz Carmouche can still lose the belt. That’s because the champion has decided to keep her belt on the line, meaning if she loses the fight the title will then become vacant.
It’s a gutsy (and totally unnecessary) risk for Carmouche, but you can’t help but to feel she is trying to prove a champion’s point. After all, she is very confident in her chances of victory since she already defeated Bennett once before, submitting her at Bellator 246 back in Sept. 2020.
Bennett has won three straight since that defeat, but her hopes of becoming champion will be stalled for the immediate future. That said, if she defeats Carmouche it puts Bellator in an interesting predicament because matchmakers will have to decide whether or not to book a third fight between them for the vacant title or go in a different direction.
In addition, Cris Lencioni also missed weight after coming in six pounds heavy for his Featherweight fight against Blake Smith, who also failed to make weight by .4 pounds.
MMAmania.com will deliver coverage of Bellator 294 tomorrow evening on Showtime right here. To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.
See you then!