Maui’s Sumiko Inaba set for Bellator title contention fight

Maui’s Sumiko Inaba is set for her next Bellator bout in a women’s flyweight bout against Denise Kielholtz on Friday.

The bout between Inaba and Kielholtz will take place during the Bellator 301 preliminary card in Chicago, which begins at noon HST on Bellator’s YouTube channel.

A 6-0 in Bellator, a win over Kielholtz (7-5) would be a considerable boost to Inaba’s title chances, as Kielholtz fought for the belt in July 2021.

“Walking around Chicago, I’ve been absorbing it. I’m here. I know I’m here to fight. I’m dialed in when it comes to the fight. But, you know, it’s amazing to just walk around this place,” Inaba told KHON2 sports director Rob DeMello. “It’s fall. There’s leaves falling. I don’t see that in Hawaii. I’m just a Hawaii girl out here trying to do big things, and I’m here. It’s crazy. I’m going to get emotional thinking about that. But, yeah, it’s surreal. So I can’t be more than grateful to be here. I feel like I’ve just been trusting the process the whole time.

“I think my confidence builds as I do believe in it, and here I am today. Our goal is to get to the top and if I keep thinking like that the next one is always bigger and it’s always a big fight, and it’s getting me to where I want to go. So yes, I definitely take all of that and that’s why I come as prepared as I can.”