One of the best women's 145-pound fighters in the world makes her 2019 debut, when Julia Budd defends her featherweight title Friday, July 12, against Olga Rubin from the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla.
Budd (12-2) comes in on an absolute tear, riding a 10-fight winning streak. She returns to the cage one day short of her last appearance at Bellator 202 on July 13, 2018, when she stopped Talita Nogueira in the third round. The 36-year-old won the organization inaugural featherweight belt at Bellator 174 in March 2017, beating Marloes Coenen by fourth-round TKO.
Like Budd, Rubin (6-0) is on a good run of her own, winning all three of her Bellator matches. Out of her six outings, the native of Isreal has three of her six wins via stoppage.
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A win for Budd could net her the long awaited opportunity to fight Cris "Cyborg" Justino if she goes into free agency and signs with Bellator. If that doesn't occur, a clash with Rizin's Gabi Garcia could be on the horizon.
"Come on over."
— Sporting News Fights (@sn_fights) July 8, 2019
Julia Budd extends a Bellator invite to Cris Cyborg. pic.twitter.com/asrsaDE0Xo
Can Budd stay focused and not look too far ahead? Or does Rubin roll in and spoil those plans?
Here's a complete guide to Bellator 224 — which is available for streaming on DAZN rather than traditional pay-per-view — including who's on the undercard and more.
What time is Bellator 224?
- Undercard: 6:45 p.m. ET
- Main card: 9 p.m. ET
- Main event: 10:30 p.m. ET (approximate)
The undercard for Bellator 224 will start at 6:45 p.m. ET on Friday, July 12. Budd and Rubin are expected to make their ring walks at about 10:30 p.m. ET.
How to watch, live stream Bellator 224
Bellator 224 is not available via traditional pay-per-view. Instead, fans in North America can watch the fight on Paramount Network or by streaming on DAZN.
DAZN is available on a variety of platforms, including Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Playstation 3, as well as Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari browsers via DAZN.com.
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How much does Bellator 224 cost?
A new subscriber to DAZN can sign up for a monthly subscription or annual pass to watch the fight. The annual pass — which includes access to all of DAZN’s live events, as well as highlights, replays, behind-the-scenes features, original shows and live reports — is $99.99, which averages out to a little over $8 a month. For those who want a monthly plan instead of the longer-term value, fight fans can sign up for a monthly option for $19.99.
For current subscribers, the fight is already included as part of your plan.
Where is Bellator 224 taking place?
Julia Budd and Olga Rubin will fight at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. It is the biggest casino the United States, with more than 400,000 feet of gaming space. The Global Event Center at the casino has a capacity of 3,500.
Julia Budd record and bio
Name: Julia Budd
Nationality: Canadian
Born: July 4, 1983
Height: 5-8
Reach: 67 inches
Total fights: 14
Record: 12-2
Olga Rubin record and bio
Name: Olga Rubin
Nationality: Israeli
Born: August 18, 1989
Height: 5-8
Reach: 69 inches
Total fights: 6
Record: 6-0
Bellator 224 fight card
Main card
- Julia Budd (c) vs. Olga Rubin for Budd's Women's Featherweight title
- Rafael Carvalho vs. Chidi Njokuani; Middleweight
- Juliana Velasquez vs. Kristina Williams; Women's Flyweight
- Ed Ruth vs. Kiichi Kunimoto; Welterweight
Preliminary card
- Leslie Smith vs. Sinead Kavanagh; Women's Featherweight
- AJ Agazarm vs. Jacob Landin; Lightweight
- Kiefer Crosbie vs. Mike Jackson; Catchweight (165 lbs.)
- Bruna Ellen vs. Elina Kallionidou; Women's Flyweight
- Nainoa Dung vs. Bradley Robison; Lightweight
- Christian Edwards vs. Justin Vargas; Light Heavyweight
- Gabriel Varga vs. Jamese Taylor; Featherweight
- Arlene Blencowe vs. Amanda Bell; Women's Featherweight
- Will Fleury vs. Antonio Jones; Catchweight (190 lbs.}
- Lucas Brennan vs. Thomas Lopez; Featherweight
- Jordan Young vs. Joel Bauman; Light Heavyweight
- Kona Oliveira vs. Joseph Holmes; Welterweight
