Tag: Bellator: Salute the Troops

Bellator’s Hawaii cards continue to build with additions from recent open tryouts

The two cards on Bellator’s Hawaii return next month continue to build with additions from the promotion’s recent open tryouts in Honolulu.

The two cards on Bellator’s return to Hawaii next month continue to build with additions from the promotion’s recent open tryouts in Honolulu.

The organization picked 10 total fighters from those open tryouts, and they’ll be part of the “Bellator: Salute the Troops” and Bellator 236 cards in December, the promotion today announced.

The fighters who earned shots with Bellator are featherweight [autotag]Braydon Akeo[/autotag], bantamweight [autotag]Pierre Daguzan[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), lightweight [autotag]Keoni Diggs[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), welterweight [autotag]Hunter Ewald[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), bantamweight [autotag]Kaylan Gorospe[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), lightweight [autotag]Scotty Hao[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), bantamweight [autotag]Cheyden Leialoha[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), bantamweight [autotag]Swayne Lunasco[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), flyweight [autotag]Jamie Thorton[/autotag] (6-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and welterweight [autotag]Ben Wilhelm[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Akeo (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) gets a tough assignment right out of the gate against [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA). Claxton will be looking to rebound from the first loss of his career, a submission setback against Emmanuel Sanchez in the opening round of Bellator’s featherweight tournament in September. Akeo turned pro a year ago and is 3-0 out of the gate.

The latest “Bellator: Salute the Troops” lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN 10 p.m. ET)

  • Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes
  • Toby Misech vs. Erik Perez
  • Veta Arteaga vs. Alejandra Lara
  • Braydon Akeo vs. Tywan Claxton

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 8:45 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Cass Bell[/autotag] vs. Pierre Daguzan
  • Hunter Ewald vs. [autotag]Jonathan Pico[/autotag]
  • Jamie Thorton vs. [autotag]Tiani Valle[/autotag]

And the latest Bellator 236 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Kate Jackson – for women’s flyweight title
  • Derek Campos vs. A.J. McKee – featherweight tournament quarterfinal
  • Neiman Gracie vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
  • Bruna Ellen vs. Juliana Velasquez
  • Cheyden Leialoha vs. [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag]

Preliminary MMA Junkie, 8:30 p.m. ET Edit Delete

  • Kaylan Gorospe vs. Swayne Lunasco
  • Keoni Diggs vs. Scotty Hao
  • Chas Dunhour vs. Nate Yoshimura
  • Spencer Higa vs. Kai Kamaka III
  • [autotag]Kona Oliveira[/autotag] vs. Ben Wilhelm
  • Dustin Barca vs. Brandon Pieper
  • Nainoa Dung vs. Zach Zane

Alejandra Lara set to face Veta Arteaga at Bellator’s Salute in Hawaii

A flyweight bout between Alejandra Lara and Veta Arteaga is the latest addition to Bellator’s “Salute the Troops” event in Hawaii.

[autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] will return to the Bellator cage this winter.

Lara has been booked to fight [autotag]Veta Arteaga[/autotag] in a women’s flyweight bout Dec. 20 at Bellator’s “Salute the Troops” event in Honolulu, two people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie on Thursday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity since Bellator has not yet made an official announcement.

Lara, from Colombia, is coming off a TKO win over Taylor Turner in August at Bellator 225. Prior to her first-round victory, the 25-year-old had back-to-back losses, including a failed attempt to dethrone women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in 2018. Lara (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) trains out of Lobo Gym in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Arteaga (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) will be looking to bounce back from a loss to champ Macfarlane in April. The 32-year-old sustained a bad cut in the title fight, which forced the doctor to stop the bout and gave the Hawaiian champion a TKO win.

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“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019” event, headlined by a heavyweight bout between Josh Barnett and Ronny Markes, takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. It will be the first of back-to-back shows for Bellator in Honolulu.

With the addition, the Bellator and USO: Salute the Troops event now includes:

  • Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes
  • Toby Misech vs. Erik Perez
  • Veta Arteaga vs. Alejandra Lara

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