Tag: Keri Melendez

Keri Melendez feels as smart, confident as ever after ending three-year layoff at Bellator 301

Keri Melendez, wife of former UFC title challenger Gilbert, feels better than ever – despite sparse outings in recent years.

CHICAGO – It was exactly 1,100 days between appearances for [autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag], but she picked up right where she left off.

On the Bellator 301 prelims Friday at Wintrust Arena, Melendez (6-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) defeated Sabriye Sengul (3-4 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) by second-round guillotine choke.

Despite the intermittent outings in recent years, Melendez felt great when it finally was time to return to action. At 39, Melendez thinks she’s fresher than ever – and is confident her training camps going forward will allow her to compete on a more consistent basis.

“I want to keep going,” Melendez told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I still feel great. I’m a little older but I don’t have much fight damage. I feel smarter than ever. When I was younger, you just push, push, push. I train smart and I don’t overtrain.

“There have been a little bit of bumps because I’ve had a three-year layoff. But now I feel like I can get back on track way easier than I did for this camp. … Right now, it definitely isn’t time (to stop). I’m feeling great. Everyone I train with, younger or older, I don’t feel the difference. It’s just the camp being smarter.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Bellator 301 video: Keri Melendez uses guillotine choke submission to remain undefeated

Keri Melendez likely broke Sabriye Sengul’s nose in the first round, then made her tap out in the second at Bellator 301.

[autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag] is still undefeated.

Melendez had an easy time Friday night at Bellator 301 where she submitted [autotag]Sabriye Sengul[/autotag] with a guillotine choke in the second round of their women’s flyweight bout at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

In the first round, Melendez might’ve broken Sengul’s nose with a punch before she got the finish at the 2:06 mark of Round 2.

At 39, Melendez, the wife of former Strikeforce champion and UFC fighter Gilbert Melendez, continues to roll in her career as she’s now 6-0 with four finishes.

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Up-to-the-minute Bellator 301 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Ex-champ Juliana Velasquez, Keri Melendez among new additions to Bellator 301 in Chicago

The lineup for Bellator’s second trip to “The Windy City” in five months continues to build with a former champion set for the prelims.

The lineup for Bellator’s second trip to “The Windy City” in five months continues to build with a former champion set for the prelims.

Former women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Juliana Velasquez[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) will try to get back on track when she takes on fellow Brazilian [autotag]Paula Cristina[/autotag] (6-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). Additionally, the undefeated [autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag] (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) will take on promotional newcomer [autotag]Sabriye Sengul[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).

Bellator 301, which features two title fights and a lightweight grand prix semifinal on the main card, takes place Nov. 17 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie. The event will be Bellator’s third trip to Chicago in a year.

In addition, lightweight prospect [autotag]Archie Colgan[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Pieter Buist[/autotag] (17-7 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Matheus Mattos[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) meets former LFA bantamweight champion [autotag]Richard Palencia[/autotag] (10-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) on the preliminary card. Bellator officials informed MMA Junkie of the new bookings Sunday. An official announcement is expected Monday.

Velasquez had a perfect 12-0 start to her career, and in December 2020 upset Ilima-Lei Macfarlane to win the women’s flyweight title. She defended it seven months later against Denise Kielholtz. But in April 2022, she was submitted by Liz Carmouche in Hawaii and lost the belt. Eight months later, she was submitted by her in a rematch at Bellator 289. Cristina has dropped two of her past three fights after a 5-0 pro start. In May, she lost a decision to Kielholtz in her Bellator debut.

With the additions, the Bellator 301 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Yaroslav Amosov vs. Jason Jackson – for welterweight title
  • Champ Sergio Pettis vs. interim champ Patchy Mix – bantamweight title unification bout
  • Danny Sabatello vs. Raufeon Stots
  • A.J. McKee vs. Sidney Outlaw
  • Patricky Freire vs. Alexander Shabliy – lightweight grand prix semifinal

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Ali Isaev vs. Daniel James
  • Tyrell Fortune vs. Marcelo Golm
  • Justin Gonzales vs. Timur Khizriev
  • Pieter Buist vs. Archie Colgan
  • Paula Cristina vs. Juliana Velasquez
  • Keri Melendez vs. Sabriye Sengul
  • Matheus Mattos vs. Richard Palencia
  • Mike Hamel vs. Tim Wilde
  • Sumiko Inaba vs .Denise Kielholtz
  • Islam Mamedov vs. Killys Mota

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.

Bellator 295 winner Bruna Ellen wants Keri Melendez fight rebooked

As far as Bruna Ellen is concerned, the sooner her fight with Keri Melendez gets rescheduled the better.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Bruna Ellen[/autotag] hopes her fight with [autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag] gets rescheduled.

Ellen (7-4 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) was scheduled to face Melendez (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) at Bellator 292 in March, but the bout was scrapped when Melendez withdrew due to injury.

Ellen ended up getting booked one month later against Ilara Joanne in this past Saturday’s Bellator 295 event at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. She won by unanimous decision and thinks rebooking her fight against Melendez makes sense.

“Keri Melendez, I was ready for her,” Ellen told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the post-fight news conference. “So, we can do that fight like next week if she can.”

Ellen made her flyweight debut once she signed with Bellator in 2016. The Brazilian has alternated wins and losses in her past seven fights but is ready to go on a run after Bellator 295.

“When I was in Brazil, I fought at 115,” Ellen said. “Now I’m 125, flyweight division, So I’m working on my skills, on my speed. I’m training with a lot of high-level girls right now, and I’m proving what I need to do. But I’m ready now just to put some wins. … Sometimes I thought I was too small for the division, but at the same time, I can hurt the girls. You saw it tonight, so I’m learning how to improve my skills for this division and see what can happen next.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 295.

Bellator 292 pre-event facts: All-time KO leader meets all-time submission leader

Bellator 292 will see the man who holds the most knockout wins in company history share the cage with the promotion’s all-time submission leader.

Bellator returns to its home base of San Jose, Calif., on Friday with Bellator 292, which takes place at SAP Center with a main card that airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

The main event features the start of the promotion’s lightweight grand prix. The title will be on the line in the opening-round matchup, as reigning 155-pound champ [autotag]Usman Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (17-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) will attempt to make his first defense against former UFC and WEC titleholder [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (30-11 MMA, 7-6 BMMA).

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about Bellator 292.

Bellator 252’s Keri Melendez on upcoming fight, potential 125 move

Keri Melendez fights at strawweight on Thursday, but she’s got her eyes on 125.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Ahead of Bellator 252, [autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag] spoke to MMA Junkie on Tuesday.

Melendez (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) talked bout her strawweight bout with Emilee King (4-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), plans move to 125 after this fight and desire to join their tournament, and whether or not she could share a card with husband Gilbert should he decide against retirement.

You can watch the full interview in the video above.

Bellator 252 takes place Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network after prelims streamed on MMA Junkie.

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Bellator free fight: See Keri Melendez’s first career submission

Watch the action as Keri Melendez defeated Tiani Valle to claim the first submission win of her undefeated MMA career.

[autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag]’s professional MMA debut lasted just 47 seconds as she claimed an eye-catching knockout win inside the Bellator cage. It meant all eyes were on her when she returned to action at Bellator 201 against young prospect Tiani Valle in Temecula, Calif.

Both fighters were keen to impress, and wasted no time after the opening bell as they set to work throwing strikes. Valle started out with the higher output as she made an adrenaline-fueled start to the bout, but Melendez looked the more composed of the pair as she took a little time to time her opponent with solid counter shots.

Melendez used her kicks well and landed clean with counter rights and left as she punished Valle at the end of her combinations. That punch power eventually told as she dropped Valle with a straight right, but rather than pursue a second knockout finish, Melendez smartly spotted the submission opening, jumped on Valle’s back she locked up a tight rear-naked choke.

It gave Melendez the first submission victory of her career and showed that, while her hands are undoubtedly heavy, she has the submission skills to match.

Since that victory, Melendez has picked up a pair of decision victories against Dakota Zimmerman and Mandy Polk to extend her unbeaten record. Next up, she’s set to face Emilee King at Bellator 242 in San Jose on May 9.

Ahead of that fight, recap her superb finish of Valle via the video above.

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Keri Melendez vs. Emilee King added to Bellator 242 lineup in San Jose

A women’s strawweight fight has been added to the lineup for Bellator’s return to its regular Northern California home base.

A women’s strawweight fight has been added to the lineup for Bellator’s return to its regular Northern California home base.

Longtime Bay Area resident [autotag]Keri Melendez[/autotag] (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) is set to take on [autotag]Emilee King[/autotag] (4-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at Bellator 242. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a Bellator official following an initial report from Sherdog.com.

Bellator 242 takes place May 9 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

The 35-year-old Melendez, wife of former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez, lives in nearby San Francisco. She fought just once in 2019 – a unanimous decision win over Mandy Polk at Bellator 229 to stay unbeaten in her brief pro career. It was her second straight decision win after first-round stoppage victories in her first two pro fights.

Emilee King

King has made a big career turnaround after starting 0-3 as a pro, including a loss under the Invicta FC banner. Since that rough start out of the gate, the 27-year-old Tennessee-based fighter is a perfect 4-0, including three submission wins. In her promotional debut at Bellator 238 in January, she submitted Ava Knight with a first-round rear-naked choke.

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With the addition, the Bellator 242 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Ryan Bader vs. Vadim Nemkov – for light heavyweight title
  • Gegard Mousasi vs. Douglas Lima – for vacant middleweight title
  • Sidney Outlaw vs. Adam Piccolotti
  • Joaquin Lopez vs. James Terry
  • Jonathan Adams vs. Edwin De Los Santos
  • Mikey Gonzalez vs. Arturo Hernandez
  • Emilee King vs. Keri Melendez

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