Cris Cyborg will defend her undisputed Bellator MMA women’s featherweight championship for the first time when she confronts Arlene Blencowe in the Bellator 249 headliner on Thursday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The show marks the promotion’s return to American soil following a four-event tour of Europe.

Bellator 249 “Cyborg vs. Blencowe”—which airs live on the CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT—also features a lightweight co-main event matching Patricky Freire with Jaleel Willis, a bantamweight showcase pitting Ricky Bandejas against Leandro Higo and a lightweight affair pairing Saad Awad with Mandel Nallo. The seven-fight undercard will stream live to the Bellator YouTube page at 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT.

A closer look at the Bellator 249 particulars:

THE LINEUP

145: Cristiane Justino vs. Arlene Blencowe
155: Patricky Freire vs. Jaleel Willis
135: Ricky Bandejas vs. Leandro Higo
155: Saad Awad vs. Mandel Nallo
170: Albert Gonzales vs. Kastriot Xhema
205: Christian Edwards vs. Hamza Salim
170: Kyle Crutchmer vs. Kemran Lachinov
185: Andrew Kapel vs. Joseph Creer
140: Mike Kimbel vs. Da'Mon Blackshear
265: Steve Mowry vs. Shawn Teed
155: Aviv Gozali vs. Logan Neal

THE RUNDOWN

• Weigh-in Report
• Bellator 249 Virtual Media Day
• Media Day Interview: Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino
• Media Day Interview: Arlene Blencowe

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