Bellator 271: Cyborg vs. Kavanagh 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 November 12, 2021, at the

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, also known as The Guitar Hotel, due to its tower constructed to resemble a Gibson Les Paul guitar, is a hotel and casino resort near Hollywood, Florida, United States, located on of the Hollywood Rese ...

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, United States.

Background

The event was headlined by

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, ...

who faced off against

Sinead Kavanagh Sinead Kavanagh is an Irish female mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Bellator MMA. Fight Matrix had her ranked #10 Women's Featherweight from April 2021 till July 2021, and March 2022. She is currently ranke ...

for the Bellator Women's Featherweight World Championship. Cyborg completed her third successful title defense since coming over from the

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 ...

in 2019. The 36-year-old captured the championship in her first promotional appearance when she stopped

Julia Budd Julia Olivia Budd (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadians, Canadian kickboxer and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist competing in the Women's Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). She has fought in M ...

in the fourth round at Bellator 238 in January 2020. Since then, Cyborg has gone on to earn stoppage wins over Arlene Biencowe and Leslie Smith. Kavanagh got her first shot at Bellator gold in her ninth promotional appearance. The SBG Ireland featherweight entered the bout on back-to-back victories — a unanimous decision win over

Katharina Lehner Katharina Lehner (born April 9, 1990) is a German mixed martial artist who last competed in Bellator MMA. She has also previously fought in Invicta FC. She fought Sarah Kaufman for the Invicta Bantamweight title in the main event of Invicta FC ...

at Bellator Euro Series 9 in October, and a second-round TKO of Olga Rubin at Bellator 234. A heavyweight bout between #6 ranked Steve Mowry and promotional newcomer Rakim Cleveland was also scheduled for this event. A middleweight bout between Jordan Newman and Shane O'Shea was scheduled for the event, however O'Shea won't weigh-in due to undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped.

Results

References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts Bellator MMA events 2021 in mixed martial arts November 2021 sports events in the United States 2021 in sports in Florida Mixed martial arts in Florida Sports competitions in Florida Events in Hollywood, Florida

Background

Results

See also

References