Bellator 202 fight card: Julia Budd vs Talita Nogueira women’s featherweight title fight headlines July 13 show

Bellator 202: “Budd vs Nogueira” takes place at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla., on July 13, 2018, featuring “The Jewel” of the women’s Featherweight division, Julia Budd (11-2), who will be shining the gems in her crown as she prepares for her second title defense against undefeated submission specialist, Talita Nogueira (7-0).

Budd became the inaugural female 145-pound champion at Bellator 174 little more than one year ago after a four-round battle with Marloes Coenen. Later in the year, she successfully defended that title in a rematch with Arlene Blencowe, which may even have been closer than their first bout.

Now Budd will face new blood in the form Nogueira, who made a spectacular promotional debut at Bellator 182 in Aug. 2017 with a first round rear-naked choke victory over Amanda Bell. That said, facing a world champion will be an entirely different proposition than facing a career 5-4 fighter who became a career .500 fighter after Nogueira finished her off.

Joining them on the main card will be former Bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas (20-5) as he seeks a return to his winning ways. Opposing him will be former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) No. 1 contender Michael McDonald (18-4) fresh off a win in his Bellator debut last December.

Bellator 202 will feature additional bouts, which will be announced at a later date.

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