Kielholtz vs Watanabe

Who won Kielholtz vs Watanabe?

Kana Watanabe beat Denise Kielholtz by submission in the 2nd round during the main card of Bellator 281, on Friday 13th May 2022 at SSE Arena in London.

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 Watanabe stats

Denise Kielholtz stepped into the octagon with a record of 6 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Kana Watanabe made her way to the cage with a record of 10 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw, 3 of those wins coming by knock out and 3 by submission.

Kana Watanabe marked her 6th fight for them, having made her own debut for the promotion in 2019.

Denise Kielholtz's Bellator record stood at 8-4-0, while Kana Watanabe's came in at 4-2-0.

The stats suggested Kielholtz had a slight advantage in power over Watanabe, with a 33% knock out percentage over Watanabe's 30%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Kielholtz had an advantage over Watanabe, with a 50% submission rate over Watanabe's 30%.

Denise Kielholtz was the same age as Kana Watanabe, at 36 years old.

Watanabe had a height advantage of 3 inches over Kielholtz. Despite this, both fighters had a equal reach.

Kielholtz was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 3 fewer fights, and made her debut in 2015, 2 years and 1 month earlier than Watanabe, whose first professional fight was in 2017. She had fought 12 less professional rounds, 29 to Watanabe's 41.

Kielholtz vs Watanabe form

Kana Watanabe had beaten 2 of her last 5 opponents.

In her last fight leading up to this contest, she had lost to Jena Bishop at PFL 2025 World Tournament: First Round 2 on 11th April 2025 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Universal Studios Florida, Orlando, United States.

Previous to that, she had been beaten by Liz Carmouche at PFL 4: 2024 Regular Season on 13th June 2024 by submission in the 3rd round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Going into that contest, she had won against Shanna Young at PFL 1: 2024 Regular Season on 4th April 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Boeing Center, San Antonio.

Before that, she had beaten Veta Arteaga at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN 2 on 31st July 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

She had been defeated by Ilima Lei Macfarlane at Bellator 295 on 22nd April 2023 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu, United States.

Activity check

Kielholtz's last 3 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 2 months and 20 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 2 years, 4 months and 28 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 6 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

Watanabe's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 2 months and 4 days, meaning she had been fighting on average every 5 months and 8 days. In those fights, she fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Kielholtz vs Watanabe?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Kielholtz vs Watanabe.