Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event that was produced by

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

Mohegan Sun Arena The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the New England town, town of Montville, Connecticut, Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a Administrative divisions of Connecticut#Village, neighborhood, section of town, village in southeastern Montville, at the ...

Background

The event featured a Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the champion

Cris Cyborg Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally by her ring name Cris Cyborg (and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos), is a Brazilian-American mixed martial artist who as of January 2021 competes in Bellator MMA, ...

and Leslie Smith. They previously met at

UFC 198 ''UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 14, 2016, at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. Background The event was initially announced as a ''Fight Night'' event with a middleweight bout between former UFC Ligh ...

, which was Cyborg's

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

debut, where she won by TKO in the first round. A bantamweight bout between

Brett Johns Thomas Brett Johns (born 21 February 1992) is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. Prior to signing with Bellator, Johns competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

and Matheus Mattos was announced as part of the event. On May 13, it was announced that Mattos had pulled out from the bout after contracting COVID-19 and was replaced by former Titan FC Bantamweight Champion

Danny Sabatello Danny Sabatello (born March 31, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. As of December 13, 2022, he is #5 in the Bellator Bantamweight Rankings. Background Coming from a Sicilian fa ...

. A middleweight contest between the #3 ranked

Austin Vanderford Austin Vanderford (born March 21, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA where he competes in the Middleweight division. As of February 7, 2023, he is #6 in the Bellator Middleweight Rankings. ...

and #4 ranked Fabian Edwards also took place at the event. Former Bellator Bantamweight Champion

Darrion Caldwell Darrion Caldwell (born December 19, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist and graduated collegiate wrestler, who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion ...

made his return to bantamweight against

Leandro Higo Leandro Higo (born January 19, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, he has also competed for Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Legacy Fighting A ...

on the main card. A women's flyweight bout between Valerie Loureda and Hannah Guy was set for

Bellator 258 Bellator 258: Archuleta vs. Pettis was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on May 7, 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. This fight card is notable for being Anthony Johnson's final fight before ...

, but was moved to this event. A lightweight bout between Alfie Davis and Alexander Shabliy took place at the event as part of the undercard. Two additional lightweight bouts were added to the preliminary portion of the card, as

Saad Awad Saad Awad ( ar, سعد عوض , born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist competing in Bellator's lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Awad has formerly competed for Strikeforce and King of the Cage. Backgr ...

took on Nate Andrews, while Aviv Gozali faced Sean Felton. A women's featherweight bout between

Leah McCourt Leah McCourt (born 21 June 1992) is a Northern Irish professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. She is a former IMMAF World and European Amateur champion and International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu F ...

and

Janay Harding Janay Harding (born September 28, 1994) is a New Zealand female mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Bellator MMA. Since January 1, 2021 Sherdog has her ranked as the #7 Female Featherweight in the world. Backgr ...

also took place during the preliminary fights. Two ranked light heavyweights, the #8 ranked Tyree Fortune and #6 ranked Grant Neal, faced off on the prelims. A lightweight bout between

Georgi Karakhanyan Georgi Karakhanyan is a Russian-born Armenian-American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Karakhanyan has also formerly competed for the ...

and

Adam Piccolotti Adam Piccolotti (born August 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Lightweight division. Background Born and raised in Half Moon Bay, California, Piccolotti competed in wrestling, baseball, and track a ...

was expected to take place at this event. However, Piccolotti pulled out due to injury and the bout was canceled. At the weigh-ins,

and

missed weight for their respective bouts. Higo weighed in at 137.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. McCourt weighed in at 149.4 pounds, three and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. Both their bouts proceeded at catchweight and they were fined a percentage of their purses, which went to their respective opponents,

and

. A light heavyweight bout between Christian Edwards and Ben Parrish was scrapped after weigh-ins after Edwards wasn't cleared to compete by the Mohegan Sun Athletic Commission. As a result, Valerie Loureda vs. Hannah Guy was promoted to the main card. After being cleared by a commission doctor on May 26, the bout was rebooked for

Bellator 261 Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 25, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background With current heavyweight champion Ryan Bader moving on i ...

Results

References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts Bellator MMA events Events in Uncasville, Connecticut 2021 in mixed martial arts May 2021 sports events in the United States 2021 in sports in Connecticut Mixed martial arts in Connecticut Sports competitions in Connecticut

Background

Results

See also

References