Juliana Velasquez coughed up her women’s Flyweight title and saw her undefeated record go out the window at Bellator 278 a few months ago after she suffered a fifth-round stoppage loss to Liz Carmouche with 13 seconds left in the fight.
Soon after Mike Beltran stepped in to halt the action, Velasquez — who was caught in the crucifix position eating elbows — was quick to protest the stoppage which seemed a bit early to most people tuning in.
Judge for yourself:
Your new flyweight champ is @IAmGirlRilla!
Liz gets it done tonight with a hard-fought win at #Bellator278. pic.twitter.com/u7c4p4NK5V
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 23, 2022
Days after the crushing defeat, Velasquez and her legal team filed an appeal to have the loss overturned with The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Unfortunately for the Brazilian bomber, the commission wasn’t hearing any of it, denying her claim and letting the original call stand.
“The commission has ruled Beltran’s “decision to err on the side of caution was appropriate to protect the fighter, Ms. Velasquez, from imminent danger,” read the decision courtesy of MMA Fighting.
Beltran submitted a letter to the commission explaining his decision, while Velasquez’s lawyer and former longtime UFC referee, now current Bellator commentator, also submitted letters in defense of Velasquez.
“Mike Beltran did what he thought at the time was the right thing in stopping the fight when he believed he saw Juliana hit by an elbow that caused her to lose consciousness, thereby putting her into a position where she was unable to intelligently defend herself,” McCarthy wrote. “Unfortunately for Mike, Juliana, the fans in the arena and the audience viewing the contest at home on Showtime Sports. Mike was wrong in his determination that Juliana went unconscious and that she was unable to ‘intelligently’ attempt to defend herself.”
In the end, neither of the letters held much weight in favor of Velasquez because the commission sided with Beltran, leaving Velasquez no other choice but to accept the loss on her record.
The now-former champion had previously requested an instant rematch against “Girl-rilla,” which Scott Coker was keen on granting. A couple of months removed from the fight, all has been calm in that area and no steps have been taken to make it happen as of yet.
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