Bec Rawlings gets Bellator debut set, faces Ilara Joanne at Bellator 231

ByDrake Riggs September 18, 2019 8:01 pm

“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

Drake Riggs

Drake Riggs is an MMA writer based out of Brush Prairie, Washington, USA who specializes in feature pieces, the women's fight scene, lists, news coverage, and rankings. He has been a passionate fan of MMA ever since 2009. Drake has most notably written for BJPenn.com, FanSided, The Body Lock, South China Morning Post, MyMMANews, Cageside Press, Sherdog, The Scrap, and MMA Today. He has also written for and created video content for RT Sport. As for other sports, Drake is a longtime fan of the NFL's Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @DrakeRiggs_ . Also check out all of his video content on YouTube at: "Drake Riggs" where he uploads fighter interviews, podshows, and various other types of content.