Bellator 294 weigh-ins: DeAnna Bennett misses weight, loses flyweight title chance

The main event of Bellator 294 will only feature title implications for one of the two participants after one of the title fighters missed weight on the scale on Thursday’s weigh-ins in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The headline bout was scheduled to be for the undisputed women’s flyweight title, with defending champ Liz Carmouche set to defend her belt against DeAnna Bennett. But those plans were thrown into disarray when Bennett missed weight by 1.2 pounds to lose her opportunity at the title.

Bennett came in at 126.2 pounds and will therefore not be eligible to win the title if she beats Carmouche on Friday night. But, in a show of her championship mindset, Carmouche has agreed to keep her title on the line, meaning that victory would count as a title defense, while defeat will see her lose her belt, with the title being left vacant.

The rest of the main card weighed in with no issues, but there were two other weight misses further down the card. Cris Lencioni and Blake Smith were scheduled to face off in a featherweight bout, but both men missed their contracted weights. Smith came in 0.4 pounds over the 146-pound non-title limit, while Lencioni weighed in a whopping 6.4 pounds over the limit, at 152.4 pounds. The bout will now go ahead as a catchweight contest.

There was also a little drama during the faceoffs, as Marcos Breno attempted to remove the sunglasses from the face of opponent Danny Sabatello, and the pair briefly scuffled before being separated.