LONDON – Denise Kielholtz thinks Juliana Velasquez needs to hold herself accountable for losing her title. Velasquez (12-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) lost her flyweight title to Liz Carmouche at Bellator 278 when she was stopped in the fourth round of their main event bout in Honolulu in April. Carmouche was able to get Velasquez down and move to the crucifix position and unloaded short punches to her head. Velasquez found herself stuck, and as a result, referee Mike Beltran jumped in and stopped the fight – a decision Velasquez and her team immediately protested. But Kielholtz thinks the referee made the right call and Velasquez just has to accept it. “I think the referee is so experienced, and in that moment he feels like that,” Kielholtz told MMA Junkie on Wednesday at Bellator 281 media day.
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