This Friday, Portland fighter Amanda “The Lady Killer” Bell will make her promotional debut for Bellator MMA at Bellator 181 when she faces off against Brittney Elkin. Bellator has finally begun to invest in WMMA in a major way and Bell will certainly be looking to become a major part of what they are building in the featherweight division. The one time fighter of the year will be making the trek to Thackerville, Oklahoma, representing the Hubbard, Oregon fight camp, Animals MMA. Bell will be looking to start things off on the right foot with Bellator. With a recent win for King of the Cage this past February, she put herself back in the win column after suffering back to back losses for the first time since 2013. She will undoubtedly be looking to use the momentum from her last victory to bring home the win.
Bell was supposed to be facing off against Jiu Jitsu ace Alexis Dufrense, but Dufrense withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons. With the withdrawal, Bell will instead be facing off against Brittney Elkin, a fighter she faced once before, and in fact, got her first professional win against. For Elkin, this fight could be the perfect redemption. With a win, she avenges the loss to Bell and secures back-to-back wins for the first time in her professional career. That said, it would seem the odds are not in Elkin’s favor. Inconsistent performances and lack of big fight experience certainly make her the underdog here. However, with an opportunity this large, it would be hard to count her out as she looks to secure her place on the Bellator roster with a win over Bell.
Friday would also mark the first time since 2014 that Bell has been able to compete more than once in a calendar year. This is a major hurdle that is going to add pressure to her promotional debut, but pressure is something that she is used to. After being named featherweight fighter of the year in 2014, following three impressive stoppage victories, she was thrust into matchups with Faith Van Duin and Megan Anderson. While Bell was not victorious in these efforts, she had faced off against two of the sports’ most highly touted prospects, and in Anderson, a future champion. If Elkin is going to be successful against Bell, she will need to look to the performances of Van Duin and Anderson. Bell is a notoriously tough fighter and will gladly take a punch to give one and she delivers some of the most ferocious ground and pound in all of WMMA. Elkin will be forced to use her size and reach advantage to either over power (unlikely) or out finesse Bell on the feet. For Bell, she will only need to do what she does best by working a tough, gritty, and fast paced attack.
Amanda Bell will likely have a mental edge going into the fight seeing as how she holds a victory over her opponent. Beyond that, she has a coach in Enoch Wilson, whose experience and excellent cornering will be a tremendous advantage for her. Bell can either try to finish this fight with her aggressive attack or grind out a win with her brutal ground game. Either way, the odds are in her favor. Just remember, they don’t call her “The Lady Killer” for nothing.
Where to Watch: Spike.com, undercard starts at 6pm EST.
