The second leg of Bellator’s Hawaiian double-header saw a new champion crowned and a dominant champ retain their title on a packed night of fights in Honolulu.

In the main event, Cris Cyborg was pushed to the scorecards for the first time as a Bellator fighter as she earned a unanimous decision victory over Australia’s Arlene Blencowe for the featherweight title.

Cyborg’s win cemented her dominance of the women’s 145-pound division, and she said he’d be interested in facing either Cat Zingano, Amanda Nunes or Kayla Harrison in her next fight.

Given the fact that Zingano is the only fighter contracted to Bellator, that matchup would seem the likely next step for the Brazilian, whose Hall of Fame-worthy career continued in style at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.

The event also saw the first two quarter-final bouts in the Bellator bantamweight grand prix, with Raufeon Stots and Patchy Mix both progressing to the semi-finals with impressive victories.

Stots captured the interim bantamweight title with a third-round knockout of former champion Juan Archuleta, while Mix showed his growing maturity and in-cage smarts to outwork former Bellator and Rizin champion Kyoji Horiguchi and score the first upset win of the tournament.

The event also saw the homecoming of former women’s flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, but she fell to a unanimous decision defeat to Justine Kish.

But it was a happier return home for former UFC featherweight Yancy Medeiros, who had the Hawaiian crowd on their feet during the main card opener as he edged a back-and-forth war with Emmanuel Sanchez to claim victory on his Bellator debut.

Bellator 279: Official Results

MAIN CARD

  • Cris Cyborg def. Arlene Blencowe via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) – for women’s featherweight title
  • Raufeon Stots def. Juan Archuleta via knockout (head kick and elbows) – Round 3, 0:16 – for interim bantamweight title
  • Justine Kish def. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Patchy Mix def. Kyoji Horiguchi via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
  • Yancy Medeiros def. Emmanuel Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Goiti Yamauchi def. Levan Chokheli via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:49
  • Bobby King def. Keoni Diggs via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
  • Dayana Silva def. Janay Harding via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Justin Gonzales def. Kai Kamaka III via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Lance Gibson Jr. def. Nainoa Dung via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)

POSTLIMS

  • Jordan Winski def. Ryan Dela Cruz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Randi Field def. Maraya Miller via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 0:48
  • Sumiko Inaba def. Whittany Pyles via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:22