On a busy weekend in MMA, no moment caused more controversy than referee Mike Beltran’s decision to wave off the flyweight championship clash between Juliana Velasquez and Liz Carmouche.
Carmouche claimed the title when she landed a takedown, moved to the mounted crucifix position and began dropping elbows on her opponent late in Round 4 of the Bellator 278 headliner on Friday night. Though the strikes didn’t appear to be especially damaging, Velasquez had no means to defend herself in the period’s waning seconds, which prompted Beltran to step in on her behalf at the 4:47 mark.