Keri Taylor-Melendez – Syndication Server

Bellator books Sumiko Inaba vs. Keri Taylor-Melendez for San Diego

Homegrown Bellator women’s flyweights will collide in San Diego.

Two homegrown Bellator women’s flyweight contenders have been matched for a fall showdown.

[autotag]Sumiko Inaba[/autotag] and [autotag]Keri Taylor-Melendez[/autotag] will collide at a Bellator Champions Series event Sept. 7 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, a promotion official recently informed MMA Junkie.

Maui’s Inaba (7-1) was signed to Bellator before her professional debut. She won her first six fights but then lost to Denise Kielholtz by unanimous decision in November. In June, she bounced back under the PFL banner with a split decision win over Saray Orozco.

Taylor-Melendez (6-0) debuted in MMA in 2016 after a successful kickboxing career. She’s only competed six times in the nearly eight years since, but the results have always been the same for her fights: a Melendez win. Her most recent fight in November was her first in three years. She defeated Sabriye Sengul by submission.

With the addition, the Bellator Champions Series: San Diego lineup includes:

Champion Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Alexander Shabliy
Marcos Breno vs. Raufeon Stots
Levan Chokheli vs. Lorenz Larkin
Aaron Jeffery vs. Douglas Lima
Sumiko Inaba vs. Keri Taylor-Melendez

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: San Diego.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 18-24)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 18-24.

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.

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.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 16-22)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Jan. 16-22.