“Rowdy” Bec Rawlings (7-8) is officially back in MMA.
After a successful 3-0 stint in the Bare-Knuckle FC (BKFC), Rawlings now has her Bellator MMA debut set. MMA Junkie has confirmed that the Aussie striker will square off with a fellow promotional newcomer in Ilara Joanne (8-4) in a flyweight tilt at Bellator 231 on October 25. The event takes place in Uncasville, Connecticut.
For the former BKFC champion, Rawlings, this will be her first MMA bout since April 2018. The last coming when she suffered her fourth straight loss thanks to Ashlee Evans-Smith. Rawlings, 30, last had her hand raised inside an MMA enclosure in March 2016 when she earned a unanimous decision over the current top-ranked atomweight, Seo Hee Ham.
Initially a strawweight throughout the majority of her career in Invicta and then into the UFC, the Launceston, Tasmania native found the cut to be too much prior to her switch to bare-knuckle boxing.
As for her opponent in Brazil’s Joanne, she has yet to compete in MMA this year as well, as she last fought in October 2018 when she extended her winning streak to two in a row. The 25-year old has shown to be a versatile competitor throughout her career to this point and she’ll have a big opportunity to get herself on fans’ radars if she can take out Rawlings.
As for the rest of the Bellator 231 card, it is still forming but sitting at its peak is a heavyweight rematch. Former UFC standouts will collide once again as Roy “Big Country” Nelson looks to avenge his loss to former UFC champion, Frank Mir.
The current Bellator 231 lineup can be seen below.
- Heavyweight – 207-265lbs: Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
- Welterweight – 170lbs: Ed Ruth vs. Jason Jackson
- Flyweight – 125lbs: Bec Rawlings vs. Ilara Joanne
- Middleweight – 185lbs: Tim Caron vs. Lucas Borges
- Flyweight: Brandon Medina vs. Brandon Santiago
- Featherweight – 145lbs: Talita Nogueira vs. Jessy Miele