Bellator MMA returning again to Hawaii in April

Bellator MMA is making another return to the islands in April and will feature some of Hawaii’s best fighters.

Bellator 294 and 295 will take place on April 21 and 22, respectively, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

Bellator 294 is headlined by the flyweight title fight between champion Liz Carmouche and challenger DeAnna Bennett, while Bellator 295 will be headlined by the bantamweight world grand prix between Raufeon Stots and Patchy Mix.

Bellator 294 begins at 4 p.m., while the Bellator 295 main card begins at 4:30 p.m.

The Bellator 295 preliminary card will begin at 2:30 p.m. and features a bevy of local fighters in Keoni Diggs, Kai Kamaka III and Sumiko Inaba, with opponents to be named in the coming days. Additionally, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane will also be on the Bellator 295 main card.

Also on the preliminary card of Bellator 295 is Makaha’s Yancy Medeiros, who was victorious in his Bellator debut in Hawaii in 2022. On April 22, he’ll face Charlie Leary in a lightweight bout.

“The fights are always special, especially coming in Hawaii. So I always thank Bellator every year for making it an annual trip for us, for us to give back,” Medeiros told KHON2 sports director Rob DeMello. “I think not just me, but all Hawaiian fighters want to give back to everyone and that’s what we look forward to, representing our islands on our island. That’s like the biggest thing about fighting at home.

“When you talk about home field advantage, that’s it really. It really is an advantage because I’ve been in enemy territory and I know how it feels and it’s passion so I can be passionate about it and the fans give it back to me.

“The experience was inevitable and I got in there, I did the walk and I was like, ‘Oh, this is why I am. This is who I am.’ This is why I perpetuate aloha and that Hawaiian spirit, because of that support, that love that’s been given to me all my life and now I can do that and represent something that I love and have it given back to me. It’s like, just keep paying it forward.”

Tickets for Bellator 295 will go on sale Friday. Stay with KHON2 on-air and online for more details when they become available.

TICKETS:

Friday night’s BELLATOR 294: Carmouche vs. Bennett 2 event is being held in honor of America’s Military, Veterans and First-Responders, all of whom are eligible to attend the event with a guest for free entry the day of with valid proof of ID. Free admission is based on a limited capacity and available on first come-first serve basis.

Tickets for BELLATOR 295: Stots vs. Mix go on sale Friday, Feb. 17, and are available at Ticketmaster and Bellator.com. A special presale will take place starting Thursday, Feb. 16.