Bellator 262 on July 16 To Be Headlined by Juliana Velasquez vs. Denise Kielholtz

BREAKING!!

Newly-crowned women's flyweight champ @JuVelasquezMMA puts her belt on the line in less than a month's time.
She'll face ranked @DeniseKielholtz on Friday, July 16th at #Bellator262.#MMA #BellatorOnShowtime pic.twitter.com/VNsUwTm63T

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) May 21, 2021

Bellator MMA has booked an important title fight for its newest July show.

On Friday, the promotion announced via press release that Bellator 262 will take place on July 16 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The fight card, which only has one bout announced at moment, will allow a limited number of fans in the building. The top tilt of the evening will be a flyweight championship clash pitting unbeaten Juliana Velasquez (11-1) against star kickboxer Denise Kielholtz (6-2).

Brazil’s Velasquez wrested the flyweight crown from Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in her last time out, trumping the former champ and handing Macfarlane her first career defeat by one-sided unanimous verdict. By beating Macfarlane, Velasquez became just the second 125-pound queen in company history. The Team Nogueira standout has never been beaten as a pro, including six appearances in the Bellator cage.

Kielholtz will be getting her shot at gold on the heels of four finishes under the Bellator banner. Most recently, Kielholtz clocked ex-title challenger Kate Jackson in 43 seconds at Bellator 247 to get in prime contendership position. Seven of eight matches for the Dutchwoman have come with this organization, and she has already beaten five women inside the distance. She sits in sole possession of the second-most stoppage victories in Bellator women’s divisional history, trailing only Macfarlane with seven.