Hawaii Commission Denies Juliana Velasquez’s Appeal of Loss at Bellator 278

The Hawaii State Boxing Commission has denied Juliana Velasquez’s appeal of her loss to Liz Carmouche in the Bellator 278 main event.

MMAFighting.com was first to bring word of the ruling. Velasquez lost her flyweight belt when she succumbed to a barrage of elbows from Carmouche while trapped in the mounted crucifix position at the 4:47 mark of Round 4. Prior to the finish, Velasquez appeared to be well on her way to a decision victory.

While Velasquez and her team believed none of the blows was significant enough to warrant a stoppage, the Hawaii commission ruled the result “shall not be reviewed, nor shall the decision made by referee,” because “[t]he referees shall stop the contest when, in the referee’s judgment, either of the contestants shows a marked superiority or is apparently outclassed.”

Mike Beltran, who was the referee in the contest, wrote a letter to the commission stating that he believed Velasquez may have been unconscious during the sequence and was doing his best to protect a fighter he felt was in danger. The commission ultimately supported Beltran’s decision to “err on the side of caution.” Meanwhile, Bellator commentator and veteran official “Big” John McCarthy wrote a letter to the Hawaii commission on Velasquez’s behalf, but it was to no avail.

Velasquez had gone undefeated in 12 professional appearances prior to falling to Carmouche. She claimed the flyweight belt with a decision triumph over Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at Bellator 254 and defended the crown with a split verdict over Denise Kielholtz at Bellator 262. After Bellator 278, promotion president Scott Coker was receptive to the notion of a Carmouche-Velasquez rematch.