Kielholtz vs Inaba

Who won Kielholtz vs Inaba?

Denise Kielholtz beat Sumiko Inaba by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of Bellator 301, on Friday 17th November 2023 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Denise Kielholtz.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Women’s Flyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 125 pounds (8.9 stone or 56.7 KG).

Kielholtz vs Inaba stats

Denise Kielholtz stepped into the octagon with a record of 7 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Sumiko Inaba made her way to the cage with an unblemished record of 6 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

Denise Kielholtz's Bellator record stood at 8-4-0, while Sumiko Inaba's came in at 6-1-0.

The stats suggested Inaba had a large advantage in power over Kielholtz, boasting a 50% knock out percentage over Kielholtz's 29%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Kielholtz had a large advantage over Inaba, boasting a 43% submission rate over Inaba's 17%.

Denise Kielholtz was the older woman by 2 years, at 35 years old.

Inaba had a height advantage of 1 inch over Kielholtz. Despite this, she had 2-inch reach advantage.

Kielholtz was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 6 more fights, and made her debut in 2015, 5 years earlier than Inaba, whose first professional fight was in 2020. She had fought 13 more professional rounds, 29 to Inaba's 16.

Kielholtz vs Inaba form

Kielholtz had beaten 2 of her last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In her last fight leading up to this contest, she had won against Paula Cristina at Bellator MMA Paris on 12th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

Previous to that, she had lost to Ilara Joanne at Bellator 289 on 9th December 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

Going into that contest, she had been beaten by Kana Watanabe at Bellator 281 on 13th May 2022 by submission in the 2nd round at SSE Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Before that, she had been defeated by Juliana Velasquez at Bellator 262 on 16th July 2021 by split decision in their Bellator Women’s Flyweight championship fight at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

She had beaten Kate Jackson at Bellator 247 on 1st October 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at Allianz Cloud, Milan, Italy.

Inaba had won all 5 of her most recent fights, stopping 2opponents and going the distance 3 times.

In her last fight before this contest, she had defeated Veta Arteaga at Bellator 295 on 22nd April 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, United States.

Previous to that, she was victorious against Nadine Mandiau at Bellator 286 on 1st October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach.

Going into that contest, she had won against Whittany Pyles at Bellator 279 on 23rd April 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu.

Before that, she had beaten Randi Field at Bellator 266 on 16th October 2021 by submission in the 2nd round at Footprint Center, Phoenix.

She had defeated Kristina Katsikis at Bellator 259 on 21st May 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Sumiko Inaba had been fighting more than Denise Kielholtz.

Going to this contest, Denise Kielholtz had last fought 11 months and 15 days ago, while Sumiko Inaba's last outing had been 1 year and 5 days ago.

Kielholtz's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 6 months and 26 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 8 months and 17 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

Inaba's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 11 months and 6 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 7 months and 2 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Kielholtz vs Inaba?

Denise Kielholtz was a 21/20 (+100) underdog going into the contest, while Sumiko Inaba made her way into the ring at 3/4 (-130) with oddsmakers.