With Cris Cyborg now in Bellator, Leslie Smith had her eyes on a rematch with the woman who defeated her in the biggest fight of her career.
Perhaps she was looking a bit too far down the road, however, because Friday night at Bellator 233, Australia’s Arlene Blencowe never let “The Peacemaker” get untracked. Blencowe’s effective jab dictated the course of the fight as she cruised to a unanimous decision in the featherweight main-card matchup, earning across-the-board scores of 30-27.
Both fighters had their moments in the opening round. Smith (11-8-1 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) is a pressure fighter who likes to close the distance and let loose with dirty boxing. But Blencowe (12-7 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) landed her left jab over and over, keeping Smith at distance.
Smith did have a big flurry late in the first round, another in the second, and a short spell of effective dirty boxing in the third. But those moments were noteworthy because they were so few and far between, as Blencowe stymied Smith over the remainder of the bout.
With the victory, Blencowe has now won six of her past seven fights. Her only loss in the run is to current Bellator featherweight champ Julia Budd, and she hopes to get the winner of January’s Budd-Cyborg fight.
“I’m the No. 1 contender – it was between me and Leslie,” Blencowe said. “I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me, but I’ve won three in a row now.”
Smith had a three-fight winning streak snapped.
The featherweight bout was part of the Bellator 233 main card at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. The main card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 233 results include:
- Arlene Blencowe def. Leslie Smith via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Tyrell Fortune def. Azunna Anyanwu via TKO (punches) — Round 2, 1:15
- Tyree Fortune def. Chuck Campbell via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- Logan Storley def. E.J. Brooks via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 5:00
- Julius Anglickas def. Jordan Young via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Amanda Bell def. Janay Harding via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:44
- Kyle Crutchmer def. Robert Gidron via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Romero Cotton def. Jason Perrotta via verbal submission (injury) — Round 1, 2:16
- Christian Edwards def. Cesar Bennett via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:16
- Grant Neal def. Jimmy Lugo via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 30-26)
