Bellator 261: Johnson vs. Moldavsky 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 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 ...

that took place on June 25, 2021, at

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

With current heavyweight champion

Ryan Bader Arizona State Sun Devils Ryan DuWayne Bader (born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA where he is the current Bellator Heavyweight Champion, the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, a ...

moving on in the Bellator Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament, Timothy Johnson and

Valentin Moldavsky Valentin Igorevich Moldavsky (russian: Валенти́н И́горевич Молда́вский; born 6 February 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo practitioner. He is currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he is a for ...

competed for an Bellator Interim Heavyweight World Championship. A title eliminator women's flyweight bout between

Liz Carmouche Liz Carmouche (born February 19, 1984) is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently signed to Bellator MMA, where she is the current Bellator Women's Flyweight World Champion. Carmouche competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

and

Kana Watanabe is a Japanese mixed martial artist. She is competing in the Flyweight division of Bellator MMA. Kana Watanabe spent most of her career fighting in her native Japan, until she began fighting in Bellator MMA. As of December 13, 2022, she is #7 in ...

served as the co-main of the event. A light heavyweight bout between Christian Edwards and Ben Parrish was scrapped after weigh-ins at

Bellator 259 Bellator 259: Cyborg vs. Smith 2 was a mixed martial arts event that was produced by Bellator MMA at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Background The event featured a Bellator Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the ch ...

after Edwards wasn't cleared to compete by the Mohegan Sun Athletic Commission. After being cleared by a commission doctor on May 26, the bout was rebooked for this event. The reigning WBC Muaythai World Featherweight champion

Lena Ovchynnikova Oléna "Lena" Serhíyivna Ovchýnnikova ( uk, Оле́на "Ле́на" Сергі́ївна Овчи́ннікова; born April 22, 1987) is a Ukrainian kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight divisi ...

was scheduled to fight Kyra Batara in the event prelims. However, the bout was cancelled the week of the event with one of Batara's corner testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. A featherweight bout between Keoni Diggs and two-time Bellator Featherweight title challenger

Daniel Weichel Daniel Weichel (born November 22, 1984) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, he has also competed in M-1 Global and Shooto. As of November 22, 2022, he i ...

was announced for the main card. A middleweight bout between Taylor Johnson and Lance Wright was to take place at

Bellator 260 Bellator 260: Lima vs. Amosov was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on June 11, 2021, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The event was the first Bellator event with fans in attendance since Bellator ...

. However, a week before the event it was announced that it was moved to this event. Light heavyweight bouts between Simon Biyong and Lee Chadwick and Christian Edwards and Ben Parrish were scheduled for this show. However, Chadwick tested positive for

and Parrish had to pull out of the bout, so Biyong and Edwards were matched with each other.

Results

References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts Bellator MMA events Events in Uncasville, Connecticut 2021 in mixed martial arts June 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