Juliana Velasquez knew she'd have her hands full in the first defense of the women's flyweight title against Denise Kielholtz in the main event of Bellator 262.
It was a little shaky for the first two rounds as Kielhlotz used her power to overwhelm Velasquez. But Velasquez used her slick boxing in the championship rounds to pull out a split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to retain the women's 125-pound belt from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Kielholtz started the fight by rushing in and trying to overwhelm Velasquez, who had none of it. Kielholtz was touching Velasquez with soft leg kicks and jabs. Then she exploded with a left hook and barely missed Velasquez’s chin. She kept enough distance to where Velasquez couldn’t go for a takedown. With 30 seconds left in the opening round, Kielholtz connected on a crisp two-punch combination.
Velasquez came out more aggressive to begin the second with a double jab but shockingly didn’t follow up with a takedown attempt. Kielholtz tried to rush in, and Velasquez made her pay with a combination. Kielholtz attempted to change the momentum halfway through when she pushed Velasquez back to the cage with a hard straight right hand but could not follow up with anything of note. Velasquez finally tried for a takedown with 90 seconds remaining in the round, but Kielholtz stuffed it with ease. Like the first round, a two-punch combination and then a hard left hook at the end of the round for Kielholtz to seemingly give her the momentum going into the final three rounds.
Velasquez and Kielholtz came out firing to begin the third with combinations. But the complexion of the fight changed for Velasquez when she started to utilize the jab and pump it at will to keep Kielhlotz at bay and made it difficult for her to connect. Whenever Kielholtz was coming in to throw, Velasquez would just slide over to the right and avoid the shots. Velasquez continued to pore the jab to Kielholtz’s left eye, which caused it to start to swell shut. There would be no late flurry buy Kielholtz as Velasquez notched her first takedown with 15 seconds to go.
Both women were missing their punches for the first minute of the fourth round until Kielholtz blasted a straight right to the face of Velasquez. The champion stuck to the plan and continued to make mincemeat of Kielholtz’s left eye with the stiff left jab. Kielholtz was giving it her all. She would come forward to throw, and as soon she winded up, all Velasquez would do is slip out of the way and the challenger would miss wildly and connect with air.
Sensing the fight could be hanging in the balance, Kielholtz began the fifth and final round getting the better of the exchanges. She came right out and blasted Velasquez with a right hand to send her back for a moment. However, Velasquez (12-0) stayed composed and stayed the course. She used her footwork and pumped three consecutive jabs to the eye of Kielholtz to halt any possible final flurry. In the final moments, Velasquez punctuated things with three more jabs to successfully defend her title for the first time.
Tyrell Fortune pounds out Matt Mitrione
Heading into the co-main event of Bellator 262, Tyrell Fortune and Matt Mitrione had shown a ton of mutual respect for one another since they were past training partners. The admiration didn't last long as Fortune used his wrestling to keep Mitrione on the mat and pounded him out to win via submission (strikes) at 1:45 of the first round.
Fortune and Mitrione showed a lot of respect towards one another in the opening moments. Fortune rushed in for a takedown, and Mitrione lowered his head, and their heads clashed as Fortune completed the takedown. Mitrione let the referee know immediately what happened. After that, Fortune continued on like nothing and was hitting Mitrione with a series of heavy shots. Mitrione looked to have absorbed the punishment. He attempted to get up to his feet, but Fortune held onto the cage and used his heavy hips to keep things on the mat.
Fortune saw an opening and uncorked a barrage of shots to the face of Mitrione. Then, realizing he was pinned against the cage and with nowhere to go, Mitrione tapped out to strikes.
With the win, Fortune (11-1) extends his winning streak to three.
Bellator 262: Velasquez vs. Kielholtz results
- Juliana Velasquez def. Denise Kielholtz via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47) to retain Women's Flyweight title
- Tyrell Fortune def. Matt Mitrione via submission (strikes) at 1:45 of the first round; Heavyweight
- Matheus Mattos def. Cee Jay Hamilton via TKO at 1:33 of the second round; Bantamweight
- Arlene Blencowe def. Dayana Silva via TKO at 1:00 of the third round; Featherweight
- Johnny Eblen def. Travis Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26); Middleweight