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Bellator is bringing one of its deepest cards in some time to Hawai’i.
Cris Cyborg, one of the top female fighters of all time, will defend her Bellator women’s featherweight title against Arlene Blencowe in a rematch April 23 in Honolulu, Hawai’i, the promotion announced Wednesday morning. ESPN has Cyborg ranked as the No. 4 pound-for-pound women’s MMA fighter in the world.
Cyborg vs. Blencowe will actually act as the co-main event. In the main event, Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis will face his Roufusport teammate Raufeon Stots. That bout will have the bantamweight title on the line and also act as a quarterfinal matchup in the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix.
Also on the card, former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi faces Patchy Mix in another grand prix quarterfinal fight. Former Bellator women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, a Hawai’i native, will take on UFC veteran Justine Kish.
Cyborg (25-2, 1 NC) has won four straight since signing with Bellator, all finishes. The Brazil native, who lives and trains in California, beat Blencowe via second-round submission in October 2020. Cyborg, 36, is the only fighter to hold titles in four major promotions: the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce and Invicta FC. Her only loss since 2005 came against Amanda Nunes, the current UFC women’s featherweight champion.
Blencowe (15-8), a 38-year-old Australia native, has won two in a row since falling to Cyborg and five of her past six fights overall.
Pettis (22-5) is coming off a shocking, fourth-round TKO of Horiguchi in December. The 28-year-old Milwaukee native has won five straight overall, including four in a row since signing with Bellator as a free agent from the UFC. Stots (17-1), a 33-year-old Houston native, has won nine straight, including five in a row in Bellator.