Cris Cyborg faced Arlene Blencowe in the main event of Bellator 279. Since leaving the UFC, she managed to win the Bellator featherweight championship in 2020. Since then she has defended her 145lbs belt three times against Leslie Smith, Sinead Kavanagh and the aforementioned Blencowe (her first title defence in 2020).
The rematch started with Cris Cyborg and Arlene Blencowe both exchanging big shots. Cyborg maintained the pace as she landed many hard punches and kicks. She dropped Arlene right at the end of the first round. But unfortunately, Cyborg followed it up with an illegal knee on the ground. Although the fight was stopped momentarily, action resumed soon and Blencowe managed to survive the round.
The power of @criscyborg – pic.twitter.com/Dyk0LSjgnF
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) April 24, 2022
The second round was much more open than the first. Cyborg landed a number of front kicks but they did not have the same effect on Blencowe as in the previous round. The Aussie managed to stay close to Cyborg and snuck in some of her own punches during Cyborg’s wild exchanges.
☎️ A phone booth kind of fight.#Bellator279 is LIVE on @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/90aTvqhuzW
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2022
Blencowe had even more success in the third round as she managed to stun the champion momentarily. But The Brazilian champ was ultimately too strong for Arlene as Cyborg repeatedly picked the challenger apart with a bunch of well-timed shots. However, Blencowe never gave up even though the toll of Cyborg’s offence was visible on her face and legs.
In the penultimate round, the champ had enough as she took the fight to the ground. It was very evident from the grappling exchanges that Cyborg was more skilled on the ground, But Blencowe showed her grit and somehow managed to scramble out of Cris’ grasp. By the end of the fourth round, it was clear that Blencowe needed a finish as she as was down all 4 rounds. But she could not land the much-needed fatal blow as Cris Cyborg saw out the last round with relative ease.
Bellator 279: Prelims Results
Goiti Yamauchi vs Levan Chokheli: Goiti Yamauchi won via submission
Bobby King vs Keoni Diggs: Bobby King won via split decision.
Dayana Silva vs Janay Harding: Dayana Silva won via unanimous decision.
Justin Gonzales vs Kai Kamaka III: Justin Gonzalez won via split decision.
Lance Gibson Jr. vs Nainoa Dung: Lance Gibson won via unanimous decision.
Bellator 279: main card results
• Cris Cyborg vs Arlene Blencowe: The featherweight champion Cris Cyborg retained her belt after beating Arelene Blancowe via unanimous decision. She now has four consecutive title defences in Bellator.
???????????? #AndStill | Bellator Featherweight World Champion, @CrisCyborg takes down Arlene Blencowe in Hawaii, defending the gold for a historic fourth time.#Bellator279 pic.twitter.com/5J8AdxKpmN
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2022
• Juan Archuleta vs Raufeon Stots: In only the second finish of the night, Raufeon Stots beat Juan Archuleta via knockout. In the process, he captured the Bellator interim Bantamweight championship.
Raufeon Stots becomes the first man to knockout Juan Archuleta#Bellator279pic.twitter.com/AqBHg7wME6
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) April 24, 2022
• Justine Kish vs Ilima-Lei Macfarlane: The former Bellator champion once again falls short as she gets beaten by a former UFC fighter Justin Kish via judges’ decision.
Both @JustineKish and @ilimanator leaving it all in the cage.#Bellator279 is LIVE on @SHOsports pic.twitter.com/EDWAfr75oN
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2022
• Patchy Mix vs Kyoji Horiguchi: Another unanimous decision victory here for Patchy Mix as all the judges had the same scorecard of 48-47 in favour of Patchy.
Patchy Mix is winner by unanimous decision!@bellatorMMA #Bellator279 pic.twitter.com/78eVQQt2FP
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 24, 2022
• Yancy Medeiros vs Emmanuel Sanchez: Yancy Medeiros won over Emmanuel Sanchez via unanimous decision as all two judges scored it 30-27 and one had it 29-28.
Yancy Medeiros landing some serious strikes at the end of round 2 ???? @BellatorMMA pic.twitter.com/ZMv4PcyJW6
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 24, 2022
Bellator 279: Highlights
Beauty… #Bellator279 by @criscyborg pic.twitter.com/u6kU0ZyUSd
— Bruno Massami (Бруно Массами) (@BrMassami) April 24, 2022
There was not much on the card to be excited about as none of the bouts saw a finish except for 2. However, the main event of the night was a highly entertaining fight between two tough opponents. Cyborg once again proved why she is the most dangerous striker in the Women’s MMA. Her kicks were the highlight of the night.
????♂️ The rise of @RaufeonStots continues! ????#AndNew Interim-Bantamweight Champion, “Supa” Stots defeats Juan Archuleta in the #BellatorBWGP at #Bellator279. pic.twitter.com/WtnB492GZL
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) April 24, 2022
The other star of the night was Raufeon Stots who became the new Bellator interim Bantamweight champion by knocking out Juan Archuleta via a vicious head kick KO. Elsewhere Goiti Yamauchi got the other finish of the night as he defeated Levan Chokhe via armbar submission.