Alejandra Lara believes good things are in store following her successful debut at Combate global.
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] is back in the win column, and she’s feeling good about what’s to come.
The former Bellator title challenger was successful in her first fight since her PFL release earlier this year after the promotion’s acquisition. Lara (10-7) dominated and bloodied her opponent Gisela Luna (5-2) to get a first-round TKO in the headliner of a Combate Global event this past Saturday in Miami.
Lara was a little disappointed she never got to debut for PFL, as she had made major changes in her career and healed several injuries. Either way, the Colombian is proud she showed improvement on Saturday and is confident there’s more to come.
“I wanted to show that I’m evolving, that I’m at another level, and that I’m primed for big things,” Lara told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I think the strategy and game plan worked perfectly. Everything I wanted to do, I was able to do it in less than a minute and a half. I want to return as soon as possible.”
This victory snapped a four-fight losing streak that included two close split decisions under the Bellator banner. Lara, 29, feels everything is coming together in her career and is thankful for her previous setbacks.
“I did miss getting my hand raised, but I’m someone that’s very positive,” Lara said. “After so many losses, some people could break, but this has been my journey, and I’ve learned so much as a fighter. I know I have the level to compete in the big leagues and there’s plenty of career left for me. I’m just starting. That’s how I feel. But I’m starting not as a beginner, I’m ready now.”
Regarding what’s next, Lara only had a one-fight deal with Combate Global. She had a positive experience fighting for the Miami-based promotion, but is keeping her options open. She does, however, hope to fight Combate Global star Lucero “La Loba” Acosta, who was her original opponent, at some point in the future.
“We’re in negotiations everywhere, but I was very happy to fight for Combate,” Lara explained. “I’m looking to keep stacking up wins, and I don’t want anyone easy. It’s not about that. I’m looking for good fights and see what we can negotiate. There are a few offers. I obviously want to fight ‘La Loba,’ but we don’t know how long she’s going to take to heal from her meniscus tear. I’m not going to let that stop me, so I’m seeing what comes through.”
Watch Alejandra Lara run through her opponent in her first fight since her Bellator release.
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag]’s started her post-Bellator career chapter on the right foot.
The former Bellator title challenger picked up a first-round TKO win in her first bout since her release from that promotion earlier this year following its acquisition by the PFL.
Lara (10-7) made a bloody mess of [autotag]Gisela Luna[/autotag] (5-2), mounting her and landing ground-and-pound until the referee had no choice but to call the fight. The official stoppage came at the 1:39 mark of Round 1 in Combate Global main event in Miami on Saturday.
Lara never got the chance to debut for the PFL. She was released from the promotion on the heels of a four-fight Bellator skid, which she snapped Saturday. Lara’s defeats all came by decision, with including two split decisions.
Lara was well known under the Bellator banner for her flashy and creative entrances and costumes at weigh-ins, along with her gutsy, 2018 title performance against then-strawweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane.
Former Bellator title challenger Alejandra Lara has a new opponent for her Combate Global debut on May 11.
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] has a new dance partner for her first fight since her release from PFL.
The former Bellator title challenger was originally scheduled to take on [autotag]Lucero Acosta[/autotag] on May 11 at a Combate Global event in Miami. The event and location still stands for Lara (9-7), but she will now meet replacement [autotag]Gisela Luna[/autotag] after Acosta suffered a fractured meniscus in training.
The news was announced Wednesday by the promotion.
Lara, a long-time contender in Bellator, was released by the PFL in January following PFL’s purchase of Bellator in late 2023. She didn’t get to debut for PFL. The Colombian fighter last fought in February 2023 and is looking to snap a four-fight losing streak.
Lara’s new opponent, Luna (5-1), is coming off a loss to Jady Menezes at a UAE Warriors event last month. The defeat stopped an unbeaten 4-0 start to her MMA career. Luna trains out of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Alejandra Lara has booked her first fight since she was released by the PFL following the acquisition of Bellator.
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] will soon be back in action.
The former Bellator title challenger has booked her first fight since her release after the promotion was acquired by the PFL. Lara (9-7) returns against [autotag]Lucero Acosta[/autotag] (5-2) in a three-round, women’s flyweight bout that’s set to headline a Combate Global event May 11 in Miami.
Combate Global announced the news Monday, which was also confirmed by MMA Junkie.
Lara was released by the PFL in January after the promotion bought Bellator in November. She wasn’t given an opportunity to debut despite having multiple fights left on her contract. Lara most notably challenged for the Bellator women’s flyweight title in 2018, losing by submission to then-champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. The Colombian fought in Bellator from 2017 to 2023 with her last bout in February 2023 when she lost a split decision to Diana Avsaragova.
On the other hand, Acosta, arguably Combate Global’s biggest name, is currently on a three-fight winning streak. She picked up a second-round stoppage over Manuela Marconetto in her most recent bout back in December.
Former Bellator title challenger Alejandra Lara reacts to her release following’s PFL’s purchase of Bellator.
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] now is a free agent.
The former Bellator women’s flyweight title challenger was released by the PFL in the wake of its recent acquisition of Bellator. Lara (9-7), who renewed her contract with Bellator after her most recent performance, had been working with the promotion prior to the sale on her return. However, those plans were put on ice with the sale, and eventually terminated after the deal was struck.
Although disappointed she was let go, it doesn’t entirely surprise her. She expected cuts with the merger.
“The news didn’t catch me completely by surprise,” Lara told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I had considered it and spoke about it with my manager. Keeping in mind my recent record, I knew there was a possibility, but that was never something that kept me down. I had a big jump early in my career, so this is an opportunity to slow things down. Bellator wanted me to fight, and they had me waiting, but with the switch the person that now makes the decision is not the same.”
Karina Rodriguez, former Invicta FC champion, and Alejandra Lara, former Bellator title challenger, have both been released by the PFL.
The two had fights remaining on their Bellator contracts, but they've been terminated following PFL's acquisition of Bellator.
Lara said she never spoke to anyone at the PFL and wasn’t paid for any of her remaining fights on her contract – although contractually, PFL is in no obligation to do so.
“Azul” is on a four-fight skid, which is why she thinks the PFL made the decision to cut her. However, she thinks that skid is a deceiving one given all those loses came by decision, two were splits, and two of her opponents missed weight.
“I never like to make excuses, but they were great fights and at the time I had that situation with my back where I couldn’t wrestle, and in the last camp I had difficulty just lifting my leg,” Lara said. “So after putting that behind me, I felt I was putting that part of my career behind me, but I did keep in mind the possibility that PFL maybe wouldn’t want me because they don’t know me and that hadn’t seen my fights. They just looked at my record, saw I lost the most recent ones, and that’s fine. I don’t blame them, but I have evolved so much as an athlete.
“Remember, I started at the top. I started by fighting the best in the world, and from there I began to get better. I know that now I’m at that level now, so I’m not scared of the future, and I’m very calm because you just have to go and earn what’s yours. I’m not scared of the future, and I’m living in the present.”
The 29-year-old is currently training in San Diego alongside Cat Zingano and Ilima-Lei MacFarlane and no longer working with Lobo Gym. She intends to continue fighting and is excited to see what opportunities comer her way now that she’s a free agent.
“Planning has never been my thing, but we’ve obviously looked at scenarios and there are possibilities in Latin America, the U.S., Asia,” Lara said. “A lot of things can happen, so we’ll see what offers come and what’s best for us.”
Never have judges publicly explained their decisions like this until MMA Junkie joined a CSAC meeting in the immediate aftermath of Bellator 290.
Calls for transparency and accountability from judges is a constant thing in MMA. After all, it’s a big responsibility given the livelihoods of fighters depend on judges “getting it right.” And yet, state athletic commissions who hire these officials never make them available to the media – until now.
At Bellator 290 on Feb. 4, the California State Athletic Commission allowed MMA Junkie to attend its immediate post-event debriefing, where judges and referees discussed their decisions with CSAC executives. It was the first time a news organization has been granted access to such a meeting after a major MMA event. Below is an in-depth recap.
*****
Two days after [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] lost to [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN 46 main event, popular combat sports personality Ariel Helwani was flabbergasted by the outcome.
Just how egregious was it? Nineteen of 21 media members scored the fight for Kara-France, according to MMADecisions.com, making it one of the most disputed fights of the year.
Helwani, host of “The MMA Hour,” went on his June 5 show echoing the sentiment of just about everyone who watched the fight. He lambasted both judges – Chris Lee and Sal D’Amato – responsible for awarding Albazi a split decision with 48-47 scores. Mike Bell was the dissenting judge who went 48-47 for Kara-France.
“One thing that I think is changeable, if that’s even a word … is transparency and accountability,” Helwani said. “And what I mean by that is, why is it that we do not hear from these men and women who are the officials on Saturday night, on Sunday, on Monday to at least explain to us what they were thinking?”
The simple answer is that athletic commissions, who hire and assign MMA judges and referees, widely discourage them from openly discussing the fights they officiate. The Nevada Athletic Commission, which oversaw Albazi vs. Kara-France at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, long has frowned upon judges speaking to the media, with one judge telling MMA Junkie that message has been communicated from NAC executives in the past.
The California State Athletic Commission, however, believes in doing things differently. Helwani said he found this out when he made a phone call to CSAC executive director Andy Foster after the UFC on ESPN 46 main event controversy.
Executive officer Andy Foster (right) leads a California State Athletic Commission meeting to review Bellator 290 at The Forum in Inglewood.
“Andy Foster, he told me, believe it or not, after every event in California – I’ve been doing this since 2006, (and) I never knew this,” Helwani said. “After every event in California, there is actually a commission meeting with the officials that the media is allowed to attend. Did you guys know this? I never knew this.”
It’s true.
In fact, four months prior to UFC on ESPN 46, during a phone conversation in the lead up to Bellator 290 on Feb. 4, Foster invited me to the CSAC’s debriefing for the event held at The Forum in Inglewood. Much to my surprise, I didn’t have to ask. He invited me.
“There’s this nonsense going around in various media circles that commissions are not transparent,” Foster told me. “Nobody’s ever asked to come. You’re welcome to come anytime you want to.”
So I took him up on the offer. Roughly 15 minutes after the final fight at Bellator 290, I sat in an arena conference room while Foster led the meeting of CSAC executives, inspectors, judges, and referees who powwowed about what transpired.
From where I sat cageside, three fights were particularly of interest for different reasons: [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nikita Mikhailov[/autotag]; [autotag]Diana Avsaragova[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag]; and [autotag]Ali Isaev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Steve Mowry[/autotag].
And so, I went into the CSAC meeting with questions about all three. It was an enlightening first-time experience to hear judges and one prominent referee speak for themselves to this extent immediately after the fights.
Result: Nikita Mikhailov def. Darrion Caldwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Judges: Chris Leben, Jon Marigliano, Felicia Oh; all three scored each round exactly the same. Media scores: Four out of five 29-28 in favor of Caldwell (via MMADecisions.com) Referee: Raphael Davis
Synopsis: This fight came down to the second round. Within the first minute, Caldwell secured a takedown, took Mikhailov’s back and worked a rear-naked choke that, for a moment, was locked in tightly. Mikhailov fought off the hands and then his defense, while lying supine on top of Caldwell, was to throw short, backward punches over his shoulder that landed. With about three minutes remaining, Mikhailov tried to escape by rolling into Caldwell, who did a nice job staying on top but in Mikhailov’s guard. With his back on the mat, Mikhailov kept busy with elbows. Despite owning top control, Caldwell didn’t take full advantage. At the 1:10 mark, referee Davis stood them up. Caldwell landed a nice counter left and hit a perfectly timed double leg takedown to end up inside of Mikhailov’s guard with about 50 seconds remaining. Caldwell was more active with his attach to close the round, but Mikhailov also went back to throwing elbows.
MMA Junkie asks:Caldwell spent the majority of Rounds 1 and 2 in top control and seemed to have secured both of them. Why did all three judges score Round 2 in favor of Mikhailov?
Foster: “He got a takedown, and he had a choke. It’s unusual that you see the amount of damage that that fighter that was being choked or was in that position come back, so I’ve got to think that’s probably what the judges were seeing because they all came back with the same score. The elbows were pretty hard. Chris, you want to start?”
Leben: “It’s rare to see a fighter win off his back, but his striking was far more effective off his back than the grappling was on top. It’s as simple as that. The striking was the most effective thing in that round.”
Marigliano: “Yeah, I agree with that. Initially he had him in the rear and had a choke attempt, but after that dissipated, Caldwell was on top and didn’t, in my eyes, come close to any valid submission, and the guy on the bottom was just damaging with elbows. Really from the three-minute, four-minute, five-minute (marks), all the strikes were landed by the guy on the bottom in my humble opinion.”
Oh: “He had the top position, but he didn’t really do anything. There was a lot of holding. At the beginning, he was attempting the choke. But even after that, he was taking punches, and he wasn’t really trying to finish it. He was more holding. The elbows from the bottom were definitely much more effective.”
Foster: “There was the attempt there where I think he was really trying to get the choke for a little while, for a short amount of time. And it’s like he was content to just sit there and get hit because he was in the better position, but we’re not playing the grappling match. I’m not saying you’ve got to agree with the judges, but you’ve heard their explanation.”
Result: Diana Avsaragova def. Alejandra Lara via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Judges: Hadi Mohamed Ali, Raphael Davis, Jon Marigliano; Marigliano was the odd judge who scored it for Lara. Media scores: Five out of seven 29-28 in favor of Lara (via MMADecisions.com) Referee: Jonathan Romero
Synopsis: In Round 1, the timing and distance of Avsaragova’s counter striking was the difference, which showed in all three judges’ 10-9 scores in her favor. Round 2 proved to be the difference. Both landed decent strikes through two minutes, close to even, but after that things got interesting. For about the next two minutes, it appeared Avsaragova got the better of the exchanges – if only slightly. Every time Lara closed the distance, Avsaragova faded the combo attacks and landed counters. But in the final 45 seconds, Lara decided to bite down on her mouthpiece and charge forward with looping punches. The combinations were wild, but some of these shots – perhaps the biggest of the round – landed cleanly and caused Avsaragova to retreat. Lara would later tell MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura that she believed she did enough to get the win.
MMA Junkie asks:Overall this was a very close fight that could’ve gone either way. What was the difference for the judge who scored it for Lara?
Marigliano: “I had Lara winning (Round 2). I thought objectively you could see the damage with her rights because the whole left side of Diana, all around her eye, was bruised up to her cheek. Lara had some great leg kicks in the first round and was bruising the inside of the leg. Diana kept coming forward, so I gave (Diana) the first round. The second round, (Lara) was landing those kicks. Now Diana wasn’t coming forward, so subjectively I thought she had diminished energy. She wasn’t active coming forward, and Lara kept coming forward and was hurting her with the leg kicks. But I really thought she had some right power punches that were more effective the second round and incurred a good bit of damage. That’s why I gave it to her. I thought her striking was more effective – maybe not more efficient, but more effective.”
Foster: “My notes on Round 2 was, ‘Very close, both had moments, that round could’ve gone either way.’ That’s literally what I thought.”
‘I was definitely close to stopping it’
Judge Mike Bell (left) and referee Herb Dean (right) during the California State Athletic Commission’s meeting after Bellator 290 at The Forum in Inglewood.
Result: Ali Isaev vs. Steve Mowry declared unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28) Judges: Hadi Mohamed Ali, Chris Crail, Elliot Kelly; all three scored each round exactly the same. Media scores: Eight out of nine 28-28 draw (via MMADecisions.com) Referee: Herb Dean
Synopsis: There was a pivotal moment within the first 30 seconds of Round 2 when Isaev tried to throw Mowry to the ground, but he missed it and ended up with Mowry on his back, which quickly escalated once Mowry locked in hooks and flattened Isaev on his belly. With his legs hovering above the canvas, Isaev had no escape. For the next 30 seconds, Isaev absorbed a plethora of punches as he struggled to defend himself. During the barrage, referee Dean could be heard on the broadcast telling Isaev to “fight back” and “get out of there” several times as he warned of an impending stoppage. Ultimately, Dean didn’t stop the fight in that moment. The round continued with Mowry in firm control, going back and forth between ground-and-pound and arm-triangle choke attempts while an exhausted Isaev could do nothing but lay there and defend. It was a clear 10-8 for Mowry from all three judges, which led to the unanimous draw.
MMA Junkie asks:There was good reason to stop the fight in Round 2 when Mowry was on Isaev’s back, flattened him out and rained ground-and-pound down on him. The crowd seemed to be calling for a stoppage. Herb, what did you see, and why did you let the action continue?
Dean: “I was close to stopping the fight. I go into the fighters’ rooms, and I give instructions before the fight. I talk about some of the fouls and things like that, but I always tell them, ‘The most important thing I’m going to tell you is before I intervene, I’m going to talk to you. If I say fight back, that means I’m about to stop your fight. What I expect from you is I want to see an effort that lets me know you know what’s going on, you still want to do this, and some sort of effort to solve your position.’ So if I see someone getting pounded on and I say fight back, and he just lays there and continues to (cover up) and hopefully it goes away, then I’m going to stop that fight. But if someone gives me effort to make their position better – now, they don’t always have to be successful, but their effort has to be something where maybe it’s going to make it harder for the other person, he breaks his posture or he has to stop punching. And that’s what that young man (Isaev) did. Whenever I told him to fight back, he gave an effort to get out of the position. He wasn’t successful getting out of the position, but he gave effort, and the other guy had to keep addressing it. Then, after he stopped, I always have to balance if the guy is able to defend himself and how much is he defending himself from. When it got to about the last minute-and-a-half of the round, (Mowry) was still in the mount and about to come after him again, but this time the guy on top was diminished from maintaining that position and trying to (finish the fight). Earlier he was able to roll elbows and land them; this time when he tried to roll elbows or set stuff up, he was never able to land something. So for the last minute of the round, even though (Mowry) was coming after him, he never really landed anything that effective. So (Isaev) did enough to make it through the round. I was definitely close to stopping it, though.”
When Bellator returns to the “Golden State” for Bellator 300 on Friday in San Diego, the CSAC will gather immediately afterward to review the event. Reporters are welcome to attend. With four title fights on the night, the judges are sure to be under the spotlight.
But this is what transparency looks like in MMA officiating. There’s too much at stake to not hold judges accountable for their decisions.
The CSAC gets that and is to be commended for going against the grain on this issue. Hopefully more commissions are willing to follow Foster’s lead.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290.
Find out how much weight all 28 fighters at Bellator 290 gained from the Friday morning official weigh-ins to Saturday night’s fights.
At Bellator 290 on Feb. 4 in Inglewood, Calif., 16 of the 28 fighters on the card gained more than 10 percent of their weight back. Two of those 16 exceeded the 15 percent threshold.
MMA Junkie obtained a list of fight-night weights Monday from California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster.
In California, fighters have their weights checked on fight day – not solely when they have to hit their marks on the scale. The extra procedure was instituted in 2017 as part of the commission’s efforts to cut back on excessive weight cutting. Within those rules was a cap on how much a fighter could gain from the official weigh-ins to the fight.
If a fighter gains more than 10 percent back before the bout, the commission can make a recommendation they move to a higher weight class. If a fighter gains more than 15 percent, the commission can potentially cancel their fight.
Check out the weight gains and percentages for all 28 fighters on the card at Kia Forum.
Former title challenger Alejandra Lara reacts to her controversial decision loss to Diana Avsaragova at Bellator 290 this past Saturday.
[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] thought she did enough.
The former Bellator women’s title challenger disagrees with the judging in her split decision loss to Diana Avsaragova this past Saturday at Bellator 290. Lara (9-7 MMA, 3-6 BMMA) thinks she clearly won the second and third rounds of their fight and should’ve been awarded the victory.
“When the fight finished, I was super confident I had beaten her,” Lara told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I know that Diana herself was surprised when they gave her the win. But it’s not her fault, that’s on the (judges).”
[lawrence-related id=2614551,2614761]
With the defeat, Lara now finds herself on a four-fight losing skid. Despite the circumstances, Lara is content because she thinks she was able to showcase improvement – something she was searching for with a change in teams prior to Bellator 290.
“The truth is that I’m very satisfied because I did the fight that I wanted to do,” Lara said. “I feel like I fixed the mistakes that I wanted to fix and work on. Maybe I did enter a little cold because I made a few mistakes that cost me the first round. But going into the second, I knew what I had to do, and I fought well – but oh well.
“I was also with a new team, people that don’t know me that well, and that didn’t help me do certain things. … I know I could’ve done it better, but it’s not the end of the world. I’m going to have another opportunity. The most important thing was showing my development and having that skill advancement. I feel like that was shown.”
Lara is not opposed to a rematch against Avsaragova, but it’s not something she will actively look for. The Colombian fighter also said she fought out her contract with the promotion at Bellator 290.
“I’m waiting to see what they say,” Lara said. “It’s interesting, and we’ll see. The first step is speaking with Bellator and then seeing what options we have.”
Check out these photos from Bellator 290, which took place at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Check out these photos from Bellator 290, which took place at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. (Photos courtesy of Lucas Noonan, Bellator MMA)
Dec 29, 2019; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) sits on the bench during the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Photo by PAUL BUCK/AFP via Getty Images
Sep 10, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans strong safety Johnathan Cyprien (37) during a NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders at Nissan Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Titans 26-16. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The attention was on Fedor Emelianenko after Bellator 290, but Ryan Bader continued to show he’s elite in a rematch setting.
The first Bellator event of 2023, Bellator 290, went down Saturday at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and it marked a monumental occasion for both the promotion and the sport.
In addition to being the organization’s debut showcase on CBS, the card marked the retirement fight of legendary former PRIDE champion [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag] (40-7 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), who suffered a first-round TKO loss to heavyweight titleholder [autotag]Ryan Bader[/autotag] (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) in their main event rematch.
The co-headliner saw middleweight champion [autotag]Johnny Eblen [/autotag](13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) remain undefeated with a unanimous decision win over [autotag]Anatoly Tokov[/autotag] (31-3 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) for his first title defense.
For more on the numbers behind the title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 290.
