Liz Carmouche Elbows Overthrow Unbeaten Juliana Velasquez in Bellator 278 Headliner

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

Patience paid for Liz Carmouche.

The Team Hurricane Awesome export dispatched Juliana Velasquez with a volley of elbows and captured the undisputed Bellator MMA women’s flyweight championship in the fourth round of their Bellator 278 headliner on Friday at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. Carmouche (17-7, 4-0 Bellator) brought it to a close 4:47 into Round 4 and completed her long journey to a major mixed martial arts title.

The first 15-plus minutes were inconsequential, outside of a Velasquez knockdown in the second round. However, the undefeated champion appeared to be in control entering the fourth. There, Carmouche executed a takedown, progressed to the mounted crucifix and strung together enough elbows to bring referee Mike Beltran into play. Velasquez (12-1, 7-1 Bellator) immediately protested the stoppage, to no avail.

Meanwhile, “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 2 winner Enrique Barzola cruised to a unanimous decision over Nikita Mikhailov in their three-round bantamweight grand prix qualifier. Barzola (18-5-2, 2-0 Bellator) swept the scorecards with 30-27 marks across the board and punched his ticket to the tournament quarterfinals, where a showdown with Magomed Magomedov awaits on June 24.

Mikhailov (8-2, 2-1 Bellator) toyed with a few flashy strikes and scrambled effectively on occasion but too often found himself a step behind the relentless Peruvian. Barzola swooped into top position in all three rounds, softened the Fedor Emelianenko protégé with ground-and-pound and flirted with chokes on multiple occasions. To Mikhailov’s credit, he refused to give in to those advances.

Barzola has posted back-to-back wins for the first time since 2018.

Finally, American Top Team standout Danny Sabatello rode repeated takedowns, positional advances and ferocious ground-and-pound to a unanimous decision over Jornel Lugo in a three-round bantamweight grand prix qualifier. All three cageside judges struck 30-26 scorecards for Sabatello (12-1, 2-0 Bellator), who moves on to face Leandro Higo in the tournament quarterfinals on June 24.

Lugo (8-1, 5-1 Bellator) was a non-factor. Sabatello neutralized him with takedowns in all three rounds, moved to dominant positions and unleashed punches, elbows and shoulder strikes. He even mixed in a few submission attempts, making a serious pass at an arm-triangle choke in the second round. It was a comprehensive performance.

Sabatello, 29, has rattled off six consecutive victories.

In other action, Grant Neal (7-1, 6-1 Bellator) laid claim to a unanimous verdict against Christian Edwards (5-2, 5-2 Bellator) in a three-round light heavyweight encounter, drawing 30-27 marks from all three cageside judges; Luis Muro (13-7, 4-1 Bellator) eked out a split decision—29-28, 28-29, 29-28—over Nate Andrews (16-5, 0-2 Bellator) in their three-round catchweight rematch at 160 pounds; Weber Almeida (6-1, 4-1 Bellator) stopped Fabricio Franco (8-5, 0-1 Bellator) with an inside leg kick 3:01 into the first round of their featherweight tilt; Dante Schiro (9-3, 1-1 Bellator) put away Scotty Hao (5-4, 0-2 Bellator) with punches 63 seconds into the third round of their confrontation at 170 pounds; and Blake Perry (1-0, 1-0 Bellator) submitted Makoa Cooper (1-1, 0-1 Bellator) with an anaconda choke 4:14 into the second round of their welterweight pairing.