No stranger to the spotlight, Liz Carmouche gets at least one more shot at glory.
Carmouche—who has already fought for titles in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce—will challenge the unbeaten Bellator MMA women’s flyweight champion Juliana Velasquez in the Bellator 278 headliner on Friday at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The Team Hurricane Awesome product enters the cage on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. Carmouche last appeared at Bellator 261, where she needed just 35 seconds to strike down Kana Watanabe with punches on June 25. Velasquez, meanwhile, brings a perfect 12-0 record into the match. The Team Nogueira export last fought on July 16, when she retained her 125-pound title with a split decision over Denise Kielholtz in the Bellator 262 main event.
As Carmouche and Velasquez make final preparations for their five-round showdown, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
35: Years of age for Velasquez, who was born in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 19, 1986.
4: Velasquez wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 33% of her career total (12). Her list of Bellator victims: Kristina Williams and Rebecca Ruth. Velasquez holds one other win by submission—she dispatched Na Liang with a second-round armbar at Bellator 189 in 2017—and seven more by decision.
498: Days spent by Velasquez as Bellator women’s flyweight champion. She captured the title with a unanimous decision over Ilima-Lei Macfarlane at Bellator 254 on Dec. 10, 2020 and successfully defended it in the aforementioned encounter with Kielholtz.
33: Professional rounds completed by Velasquez. She has gone the distance on seven different occasions and carries a 7-0 record in those bouts.
2: Countries in which Velasquez has plied her mixed martial arts trade. She has gone 7-0 in the United States and 5-0 in her native Brazil.
38: Years of age for Carmouche, who was born on Feb. 19, 1984 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
3: Carmouche victories by submission, accounting for 19% of her career total (16). Her methods of choice: two rear-naked chokes and one armbar. Carmouche owns seven other victories by knockout or technical knockout and six more by decision.
12: Consecutive calendar years in which Carmouche has fought at least once. She went 6-0 in 2010, 0-2 in 2011, 2-0 in 2012, 1-2 in 2013, 0-1 in 2014, 1-0 in 2015, 1-0 in 2016, 0-1 in 2017, 1-0 in 2018, 1-1 in 2019, 1-0 in 2020 and 2-0 in 2021.
.763: Cumulative winning percentage between the five women—Alexis Davis (twice), Valentina Shevchenko, Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen—who have defeated Carmouche. They sport a combined record of 119-37.
8: Promotions for which Carmouche has competed as a mixed martial artist. She has gone 5-5 in the UFC, 2-2 in Strikeforce, 3-0 in Bellator, 2-0 in Invicta Fighting Championships, 1-0 in C3 Fights, 1-0 in Ultimate Warrior Challenge, 1-0 in the Native Fighting Championship and 1-0 in an undisclosed regional organization.
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