Tag: Valerie Loureda

Bellator 243 post-event facts: Michael Chandler makes history with blistering knockout

Check out all the facts and figures from Bellator 243, which took place Friday in Uncasville, Conn.

Bellator’s second event since returning from a hiatus brought on by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic took place on Friday with Bellator 243. The event again went down at the “Fightsphere,” which is located at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

The most decorated athlete in Bellator history headlined the card in winning fashion. Former three-time champ [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 18-5 BMMA) knocked out former UFC and WEC titleholder [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (28-8 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) in the first round of their anticipated rematch. With the win, Chandler went to 2-0 against Henderson and ended his current Bellator contract.

The talk is getting stronger that Chandler’s storied Bellator run may come to an end with this fight. If that’s the case, he goes out with a special resume. For all the figures, check below for 20 post-event facts to come out of Bellator 243.

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General

Betting favorites went 2-2 on the main card.

Betting favorites improved to 5-0 in Bellator main events this year.

Total fight time for the four-bout main card was 35:23.

Main card

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Chandler’s 18 victories in Bellator competition are tied with Patricio Freire for most in company history.

Chandler’s 15 victories in Bellator lightweight competition are most in divisional history.

Chandler’s 13 stoppage victories in Bellator competition are most in company history.

Chandler’s 10 stoppage victories in Bellator lightweight competition are most in divisional history.

Henderson fell to 5-3 since he returned to the lightweight division in August 2016.

Henderson suffered his first knockout loss since Aug. 23, 2014 – a span of 2,176 days (nearly six years) and 12 fights.

[autotag]Timothy Johnson[/autotag] (14-6 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) has earned 11 of his 14 career victories by stoppage. That includes both of his Bellator wins.

[autotag]Matt Mitrione[/autotag]’s (13-8 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) four-fight winless skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since February 2018.

Mitrione has suffered six of his eight career losses by stoppage.

[autotag]Myles Jury[/autotag] (19-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) has earned both of his Bellator victories by decision.

[autotag]Georgi Karakhanyan[/autotag] (29-11-1 MMA, 7-9 BMMA) fell to 1-3 since he returned to Bellator for a third stint in March 2019.

Karakhanyan fell to 1-1 since he moved up to the Bellator lightweight division in February 2020.

Karakhanyan has suffered eight of his 11 career losses by decision.

Preliminary card

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[autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) has earned both of her career stoppage victories by knockout.

[autotag]Nainoa Dung[/autotag] (3-2 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career 3-0.

Dung suffered the first knockout loss of his career.

Valerie Loureda happy to shut up Tara Graff after getting ‘personal’ in Bellator 243 build-up

Valerie Loureda still plans on posting Tik Toks.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — [autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] has made one thing clear: She’s not going to change for anyone.

The 22-year-old Bellator prospect picked up her third professional victory on Friday night at Bellator 243, stopping Tara Graff in the second round of their flyweight contest. Loureda (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) was happy to maintain her unbeaten status, but the satisfactory feeling goes beyond her record, as things got personal with Graff in the leadup to the event.

“Of course it made it personal,” Loureda told reporters, including MMA Junkie, in her post-fight scrum. “I just didn’t answer her, I didn’t lower myself to her. I waited to the chance I got to fight when I was healthy so I could shut her mouth.”

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Graff and critics were questioning the way Loureda carries herself online outside of the cage and on her social media platforms, claiming it wasn’t a good example in the sport.

Being judged and told how she should carry herself didn’t sit well with Loureda.

“Let me tell you something, I’m a master in taekwondo, I’m always professional until this girl,” Loureda said. “I can’t be professional with that girl when you’re telling me I’m being demoralizing to the sport. You know what, look at all the girls who look like me, who dance, who wan’t to defend themselves, who are now going to be in MMA because I’m an inspiration and they’re not scared. That’s what I stand for, not what she said.”

With another win in her pocket, Loureda plans on carrying on business as usual.

“I’m still going to post Tik Toks, I don’t care what anyone says,” Loureda said.

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Video: Valerie Loureda breaks out the dance moves after Bellator 243 victory

Valerie Loureda broke out the moves following her knockout of Tara Graff at Bellator 243.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] wasn’t just happy following her victorious return at Bellator 243 – she was elated.

After finishing opponent Tara Graff in buzzer-beater fashion at the end of Round 2, Loureda (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) let out a tribal scream directed at her downed opponent. After cooling her emotions and shaking hands with her opponent, the post-fight party began.

Loureda danced, and danced, and danced some more. She offered up her Instagram and TikTok usernames into the camera.

After the official decision, the dancing resumed and went on for quite a while. At one point, her sister even jumped in and the two danced together.

Check out Loureda’s post fight celebration below:

Bellator 243 took place Friday at Mohegan Sun Casino. The main card simulcasted on Paramount Network and DAZN after prelims on MMA Junkie.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Bellator 243 results: Valerie Loureda remains undefeated, stops Tara Graff with huge right

Valerie Loureda remains undefeated in MMA as she returned from an absence of 14 months.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] continues her unbeaten Bellator run.

The 22-year-old rising prospect scored a knockout over Tara Graff in the preliminary card of Bellator 243 on Friday night. Loureda (3-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) picked up her first win of 2020. The official stoppage came at the 5:00 mark of Round 2.

The finish came after Loureda dropped Graff (1-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a right hook and then followed up with ground-and-pound, forcing referee Mark Beltran to wave off the fight.

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The bout was a clean and calculated performance by Loureda. For the majority of the fight, Loureda circled on the outside of the canvas, picked her shots and avoided any grappling exchanges.

It was towards the end of round two where Loureda was able to open up more in her striking, pressure and land bigger shots, which resulted in the fight ending sequence.

Loureda makes a successful return after 14 months out of competition. The American Top Team fighter was kept out of action due to injury, an appearance on reality show “Exatlon,” and the ongoing pandemic which suspended Bellator events for a few months.

The flyweight bout was part of the Bellator 243 preliminary card at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. It streamed on MMA Junkie ahead of a main card on Paramount and DAZN.

Up-to-the-minute Bellator 243 results include:

  • Valerie Loureda def. Tara Graff via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 5:00
  • Grant Neal def. Hamza Salim via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-24)
  • Charlie Campbell def. Nainoa Dung via TKO (leg kicks) — Round 2, 1:42
  • Dalton Rosta def. Mark Gardner via TKO (doctor stoppage) — Round 1, 5:00

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Valerie Loureda’s Bellator 243 prediction: ‘It’s going to be easy for me’

Flyweight prospect Valerie Loureda sees herself with a stoppage win against Tara Graff at Bellator 243.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – [autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] expects to return to mixed martial arts competition in style.

The Bellator flyweight prospect takes on Tara Graff on Friday during the preliminary card of Bellator 243. This is Loureda’s first bout in more than a year. She’s been kept out of competition due to injury, an appearance on the reality television show “Exatlon,” and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Loureda (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is excited to get back in the Bellator cage and expects to walk out with a finish.

“I think we’re both very aggressive and I think I’m going to be crazy – and when I’m crazy, I hit hard” Loureda told MMA Junkie. “I just think I’m going to stop her in a way she’s not going to expect. She really just comes forward and doesn’t move her head, and it’s going to be easy for me.”

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The 22-year-old thinks the time away from competition has served her well and she expects to show a much improved version of herself compared to the last time she was seen in the cage.

“This Valerie Loureda is mentally a lot stronger,” Loureda said. “This Valerie Loureda that’s getting in the cage is completely different and is going to be more well-rounded in MMA, not just striking. I want to show all the talents I have in MMA, and I’m just going to show I’m not just an Instagram girl and I’m going to go out there and kick any girl’s ass.”

Even though there is less than half a year left in 2020, Loureda hopes to get busy and be able to log more fights before the year is up.

“I’m just very hard on myself, but ideally I want to do three fights a year,” Loureda said. “Last year, I did two and I filmed a reality show. This year, because of the quarantine, I wasn’t able to fight. But I want to do three or two more fights by the end of this year. I’m extremely hard on myself. I know I’m only 2-0, but I’ve been doing this my whole life, since I was a baby. I just feel old in this sport and I feel like I’ve been doing this for so long. I’ve felt so calm this week.”

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Valerie Loureda wants to break Instagram stereotype of female fighters: You can be feminine and still fight

Valerie Loureda opens up about Instagram and the criticism behind her posts.

[autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] hopes to help change the way some people expect female athletes to look in MMA.

Although MMA has been around for many years now and it is broadcast on mainstream cable networks like Paramount (Bellator) and ESPN (UFC), some still see the sport as exclusive to men and only being associated with blood, sweat, rage and bad tattoos.

Loureda (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA), who fights Friday at Bellator 243, has gained a fair amount of popularity through her wins, as well as her life outside the cage.

Through the use of Instagram and other social media platforms, the flyweight prospect hopes to help break the stereotype many have set on female fighters.

“I think that a woman should know how to defend herself, and one thing doesn’t have to do with the other,” Loureda explained in Spanish on Monday’s episode of Hablemos MMA. “When I step into training, I transform. I forget about the makeup, I forget about the hair, I forget about my eyelashes, and my focus is on fighting and defending myself. Outside of the sport, I go home and I’m super girly-girl. I like going to the mall. I have my hair done. I put on my eyelashes, and it’s not for all women, but I want to send a message that you can be sexy and elegant and be able to step in a cage and fight – be able to defend yourself.”

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Loureda has plenty of fans, as seen with her strong social media following. The 22-year-old has more than 250,000 followers on Instagram. And like many in the spotlight, the attention has also brought on critics.

Recently, the UFC’s Macy Chiasson criticized how Loureda carries herself online, claiming she’s “selling sex” and not MMA.

Loureda, born in Miami and with Cuban heritage, is also a model and a dancer apart from being a professional fighter. The 22-year-old doesn’t think people should judge others based on what they do outside of the cage.

“I don’t think you should be judging someone by how they look, and this is a problem we have in MMA,” Loureda said. “There’s a stereotype of women in this sport, and I can help change that.

“I’m a dancer, but at the same time I did tae kwon do, and no one can take that away from me. The way I am, and that’s with my dancing and fighting, that’s what makes me happy. That’s how I show women I can do that and no one should judge you. I want other women to look at that and say, ‘That sport is not only for men. I can be elegant, pretty, feminine and still be a strong woman in the cage.’

“That’s who I am, and no one is going to take that way from me. I know the message that I’m going to send. The way girls look up to me and send me messages saying they now want to learn self defense because they no longer think this is a sport for men only, that makes me happy. And that’s one of my motivations to keep winning, so I show the world that you can be that way and be a champion in this sport.”

As far as her public back-and-forth on Instagram with Chiasson, Loureda doesn’t want to be in any more disputes. However, she did feel the need to reply to Chiasson and explain where she was coming from.

“She’s a woman that has her problems because she’s out judging other women in this sport,” Loureda said. “The only reason why I replied to her, it’s because I was truly passionate that she was feeling bad. She likes her tattoos and all that, and I like to dance. So there’s no problem with that. Everyone outside of the cage has their own personalities and she shouldn’t be judging anyone for that or anyone in the world. But it’s OK. I silence her when I fight. I won’t change who I am because of what someone thinks or says.”

Loureda is still young in the sport. It can be a heavy burden for a young athlete to carry that much attention at an early stage of her career. However, Loureda is making a conscious effort to focus on what matters to her.

“The public gives me a lot of negative comments and it’s very easy for someone my age, 22 years old, to give into that and get influenced by it,” Loureda said. “But that’s something that I do. I block that and I barely look at the comments because I’m focused on my goal and my dream and I know that I’m going to reach it. The moment I step in the cage and get another incredible knockout, it’s going to shut people’s mouths.”

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Inspired by Jorge Masvidal’s success, Valerie Loureda hopes to represent Miami and Cuban community

Flyweight prospect Valerie Loureda takes inspiration from Jorge Masvidal, hopes to represent Miami and Cuban community at Bellator 243.

[autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] wants to make her people proud.

The 22-year-old flyweight prospect hopes to represent her hometown of Miami and its Cuban community in her new career as a professional mixed martial artist. Loureda (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) began fighting in 2019 and she’s notched two impressive victories for Bellator.

But Loureda is not alone representing the city of Miami. Her friend and teammate, Jorge Masvidal, rose to stardom in the past year while fighting in the UFC’s welterweight division, making him one of the biggest stars in combat sports and now one of the biggest athletes to come out Miami.

Loureda, who like Masvidal has Cuban heritage, takes inspiration from “Gamebred” and hopes to follow his footsteps in Bellator.

“I’m very confident I can be the next face to come out of Miami, the next female fighter,” Loureda said in Spanish on the latest episode of Hablemos MMA. “I don’t know any female fighter that is Cuban, and I’m very confident I could be the next one.

“I know that I can get the same support the community has given Jorge. I have the same coaches as Jorge, the same training, and I’m following his steps in the sport. He’s guiding me a lot. I’m very confident in my camp, in my team, my city behind me, and I’m going to win this fight for the Cubans here in Miami.”

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Loureda takes on Tara Graff in an 125-pound contest Friday on the preliminary card of Bellator 243 in Uncasville, Conn.

Loureda is happy to be returning to the Bellator cage since it’s been a little more than a year since her most recent fight. “Master” Loureda was kept out of action due to injury, an appearance on the Spanish reality TV show “Exatlon,” and then the ongoing global pandemic that forced Bellator to halt operations for a few months.

Loureda acknowledged these aren’t the best conditions for a return, but she plans on relying on her lifelong training ahead of Bellator 243.

“I didn’t know about this fight until three weeks ago and I didn’t have many training partners to do sparring and my jiu-jitsu. But I’m confident because I’ve been doing this since I was a child, so I have that muscle memory,” Loureda sid. “These last few weeks, I’ve been doing the best I can to be ready to win and come out on top.

“I might not be sparring as much, but I’m doing physical training (and) conditioning. I lost a lot of weight after ‘Exatlon,’ and in these times, I’ve used time to concentrate on what I want to do with my life. While many are eating and gaining weight at home, I’ve been working to be on weight and be ready for this fight. So I haven’t had many partners for this training camp, but I’m very confident in my level and the years of training in martial arts.”

Loureda has a strong following online, especially on her Instagram account. She thinks due to her popularity, many opponents underestimate her fighting skills. The unbeaten prospect has no problem with being taken lightly.

“My opponent is very aggressive, and like most of the opponents that I have, she’s going to try to take me down,” Loureda said. “But if they knew that I’m very prepared for that (they might not). I train with the best female fighters on the planet here at American Top Team. I did the camp with Joanna (Jedrzejczyk) in January (and) February. I’m ready.

“She sees me on Instagram and she thinks I only post pictures, but she doesn’t know I train twice, three times a day, and like an animal. That’s my secret weapon. She thinks I’m weak – I’m just an Instagram model. But when I step in the cage, I transform.”

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Hablemos MMA #2: Entrevista con Valerie Loureda, resumen de UFC on ESPN+ 31, noticias, y mas

Escucha el segundo episodio de Hablemos MMA con Danny Segura.

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(Editor’s note: Hablemos MMA is MMA Junkie’s weekly Spanish-language podcast hosted by reporter Danny Segura. New episodes are released every Monday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more of your favorite podcasting platforms. You can also stream or download the latest episode above.)

En el segundo episodio de Hablemos MMA, Danny Segura entrevista a [autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag] sobre su pelea contra Tara Graff en Bellator 243, la influencia de Jorge Masvidal en su carrera, y su disputa con Macy Chiasson sobre su imagen publica en Instagram.

También analizamos los resultados de UFC on ESPN+31: [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Edmen Shahbazya[/autotag], y repasamos las ultimas noticias de las artes marciales mixtas incluyendo el anuncio de unificación de titulo entre Khabib Nurmagomedov y Justin Gaethje, la suspensión de Gilbert Melendez de parte de USADA, el regreso de Erik ‘Goyito’ Perez, y mucho mas.

The women of MMA version of the ‘Don’t Rush’ Challenge is pretty great

Some of the biggest stars in women’s MMA have created their own version of the “Don’t Rush” Challenge.

Some of the most popular fighters in women’s MMA have created their own version of the #Don’tRush Challenge.

The “Don’t Rush” Challenge is a viral internet trend on TikTok, where each person involved displays their transformation from home to going out attire, in various videos that are later combined into one.

The women of MMA version includes the likes of UFC fighters [autotag]Michelle Waterson[/autotag], [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag], [autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag], and [autotag]Rachael Ostovich[/autotag]; Bellator champions [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] and [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag], along with promotional up-and-comer [autotag]Valerie Loureda[/autotag]; ONE Championship’s [autotag]Angela Lee[/autotag]; and more. In the video, the women show off some MMA skills before transforming into their glammed-up looks.

Bellator fighter [autotag]Bec Rawlings[/autotag], who’s been open about her past as a domestic violence victim, is also featured. Her part lines up with the lyrics “I hate domestic abusers/In fact they all make me sick” from the song used in the video.

Coincidence or well played?

Take a look at the women of MMA “Don’t Rush” Challenge video below courtesy of Waterson (via Instagram).

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAG6zNUALRi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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