Bellator MMA flyweight champion Liz Carmouche defended her title for the second time on Friday by submitting challenger DeAnna Bennett via arm triangle choke at 4:29 of the fourth round.
The 125-pound title fight headlined Bellator 294 inside Neal S. Blaisdell Centre in Honolulu. It was a unique situation in that it was a title fight for Carmouche only, as Bennett was ineligible to win the belt after missing weight by 1.2 pounds earlier in the week. Carmouche wasn’t technically obligated to put her championship on the line, but elected to do so. Had she lost, the belt would have been left vacant.
Bennett (13-8-1) appeared to be on her way to making that scenario a reality, as she was surprisingly successful at taking Carmouche down and keeping her on the floor. She scored a takedown in each of the first three rounds and spent the majority of the time in top position. In the fourth, however, Carmouche (19-7) defended Bennett’s single leg attempt, scrambled into top position and then eventually full mount to set up the finish.
“The first few rounds, not having to cut the extra weight and being at a championship level, she was able to use that,” Carmouche said. “I knew she wouldn’t have the gas tank though, and that even if I lost those rounds, I would get it back.”
The finish was an impressive one for Carmouche, who could have easily been frustrated by Bennett’s game plan. Bennett bloodied Carmouche’s nose with ground strikes in the opening round and caused a welt on her forehead in the fourth.
Carmouche’s strength and experience showed in the fourth, however, leading to her fourth consecutive finish. She has now won six in a row in Bellator, a streak that actually began with a submission victory over Bennett in 2020.
“No squeeze,” said Carmouche, on the finish. “Like I teach everybody, I heard her gargling and all I had to do was take the correct angle and wait her out.”
Bennett, who has struggled to make weight even prior to this week’s miss, sees a three-fight win streak snapped. Bellator MMA will stay in Hawaii for another card on Saturday, headlined by a bantamweight tournament fight between Patchy Mix (17-1) and Raufeon Stots (17-1).