BELLATOR MMA has confirmed the full fight card for BELLATOR MMA 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky this Friday, June 25 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The event airs LIVE on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and is headlined by No. 1 ranked heavyweight Timothy Johnson (15-6) versus the streaking No. 3 ranked Valentin Moldavsky (10-1) to determine the first interim champion in the promotion’s history.
An additional four fights compliment the BELLATOR 261 main card on SHOWTIME, including a top-five women’s flyweight bout pitting the savvy No. 2 ranked Liz Carmouche (15-7) against the undefeated No. 3 ranked Kana Watanabe (10-0-1) in the co-main event. Also, submission specialists square off as former title challenger No. 6 ranked featherweight Daniel Weichel (40-12) battles the undefeated Keoni Diggs (9-0), and a top-ten lightweight contest between No. 4 ranked Myles Jury (19-5) and No. 6 ranked Sidney Outlaw (15-4). Top light heavyweight prospect Christian Edwards (4-0) now meets Simon Biyong (7-1) to round out the main card after both of their originally scheduled opponents withdrew from their respective matchups.
Set for six fights, the preliminary card is highlighted by a 145-pound scrap between John Macapa (23-5-2) and John de Jesus (13-9), the highly anticipated return of undefeated Jaylon Bates (2-0) squaring off with Cody Matthews (1-1) in a bantamweight battle, and former Cage Warriors lightweight champion Soren Bak (14-1) clashing with grappling specialist Bobby Lee (12-5) in a lightweight contest.
Additionally, female strawweight Lena Ovchynnikova (12-6, 1 NC) takes on Kyra Batara (8-4), Taylor Johnson (6-2) takes on Lance Wright (5-1) in a middleweight matchup and Team Bodyshop prospect Isaiah Hokit makes his professional debut at lightweight against Corey Samuels (2-2).
BELLATOR 261 prelims will stream live at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT on the BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel, SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and Pluto TV.
As part of the launch of BELLATOR MMA on SHOWTIME, the network is offering viewers who are new to the SHOWTIME streaming service a 30-day free trial, followed by a discounted monthly subscription fee of $4.99/month for the next six months. Viewers can sign up at SHO.com/BellatorMMA. Subscribers will be delivered two premier BELLATOR MMA events per month throughout 2021 and beyond, with all events scheduled to air live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT anywhere the SHOWTIME service is available.
