Alejandra Lara will return to the Bellator cage this winter.
Lara has been booked to fight Veta Arteaga in a women’s flyweight bout Dec. 20 at Bellator’s “Salute the Troops” event in Honolulu, two people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie on Thursday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity since Bellator has not yet made an official announcement.
Lara, from Colombia, is coming off a TKO win over Taylor Turner in August at Bellator 225. Prior to her first-round victory, the 25-year-old had back-to-back losses, including a failed attempt to dethrone women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane in 2018. Lara (8-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) trains out of Lobo Gym in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Arteaga (5-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) will be looking to bounce back from a loss to champ Macfarlane in April. The 32-year-old sustained a bad cut in the title fight, which forced the doctor to stop the bout and gave the Hawaiian champion a TKO win.
“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019” event, headlined by a heavyweight bout between Josh Barnett and Ronny Markes, takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie. It will be the first of back-to-back shows for Bellator in Honolulu.
With the addition, the Bellator and USO: Salute the Troops event now includes:
- Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes
- Toby Misech vs. Erik Perez
- Veta Arteaga vs. Alejandra Lara
