There was big news in the world of Bellator MMA as far as champions were concerned.
The first was that women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg would defend her 145-pound crown against Sinead Kavanagh next. This was announced by Bellator president Scott Coker who was appearing on The MMA Hour.
It will take place at the upcoming Bellator 271 event on November 12 which will be in Hollywood, Florida.
Cyborg is coming off a fifth-round TKO victory over Leslie Smith in May. It was her second title defense after winning the title from Julia Budd in January last year.
Kavanagh, meanwhile, is on a two-fight winning streak following victories over Olga Rubin and Katharina Lehner. However, she hasn’t competed since October last year which could prove a factor.
Pitbull No Longer Lightweight Champion
The other bit of news? Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire is no longer lightweight champion.
The Brazilian vacated his title in order to focus on the featherweight division and current champion AJ McKee. ‘Pitbull’ lost his title to McKee and also suffered his first defeat since 2016 after getting submitted in the first round of their title fight in July.
This move also allows his brother Patricky to challenge for the 155-pound crown as he takes on Peter Queally for the vacant title on November 5 in Ireland.
“First thing is, I lost the featherweight division,” Patricio said (via ESPN). “For me, it doesn’t make sense to be a champion in the lightweight division. If I lost at 145 pounds, I can’t be the champion at 155.”
Queally and Freire competed in May in what was a TKO (doctor stoppage) win for the former which also put him on a two-fight winning streak.
Freire, meanwhile, will look to end his two-fight losing streak, get revenge on Queally and become the Bellator lightweight champion for the first time.