Raufeon Stots vs. Cheyden Leialoha added to Bellator 236 main card
A clash between rising bantamweights is on tap for Bellator’s return to Hawaii.
At Bellator 236, highly touted Raufeon Stots will make his promotional debut when he takes on Cheyden Leialoha on the evening’s main card. A promotion official informed MMA Junkie of the booking Wednesday afternoon.
Bellator 236 will take place Dec. 21 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card will stream on DAZN after prelims on MMA Junkie.
Stots (12-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his debut after signing with the promotion in early October. Highly regarded as one of the top bantamweight prospects in North America, Stots is riding a four-fight winning streak.
Most recently, Stots competed for LFA. In his three outings for the promotion, he defeated all comers, including fellow top prospect Levi Mowles.
Leialoha’s opportunity at Bellator 236 comes on the heels of his participation in an open tryout held in Honolulu on Nov. 2. Hawaii’s Leialoha (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) impressed the promotion’s brass enough to offer him a main-card slot on the second leg of a two-night doubleheader to be held in his home state.
The 25-year-old Leialoha is one fight removed from his appearance on the inaugural season of Dana White’s Contender Series. After losing to John Castaneda on the show, Leialoha picked up a submission victory in April 2018.
Additionally, three preliminary card matchups have also been added to the evening’s undercard. A welterweight matchup pits Kona Oliveira (1-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) against Honolulu tryout signee Ben Wilhelm (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
Flyweights Nate Yoshimura (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and Chas Dunhour (0-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will collide, as well as lightweights Dustin Barca (3-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and Brandon Pieper (11-13 MMA, 0-1 BMMA).
Check out the current Bellator 236 lineup below:
- Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Kate Jackson
- Derek Campos vs. A.J. McKee
- Bruna Ellen vs. Juliana Velasquez
- Neiman Gracie vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
- Cheyden Leialoha vs. Raufeon Stots
- Nainoa Dung vs. Zach Zane
- Kona Oliveira vs. Ben Wilhelm
- Kai Kamaka III vs. Spencer Higa
- Chas Dunhour vs. Nate Yoshimura
- Dustin Barca vs. Brandon Pieper