Denise Kielholtz scored a decision victory over Martine Michieletto to retain her Bellator kickboxing championship Saturday as part of Bellator Kickboxing 5.
The event took place from Torino, Italy and went down after Bellator 176.
Kielholtz, who is now 46-3 in kickboxing matches, said after the win that she’ll look to compete in MMA later this year.
“It was a good night for me with the win, but it was tough fight. She’s a taller southpaw fighter and she really brought it. All rounds were for me and that’s the most important thing for me. It’s great to retain this belt, this is my biggest prize in the sport and I’m honored to be the world champion for Bellator,” Kielholtz said. “Really, for me, Bellator is the biggest kickboxing organization in the world, they are really for the fighters, so I am very happy to be representing this company. The next time you see me out there might be in the Bellator cage fighting MMA. We’re working very hard on all aspects of my training and so hopefully before the end of summer you will see me fighting MMA.”
In the main event, Giorgio Petrosyan scored a decision vs. Amansio Paraschiv. He is now 84-2-2 with a no-contest over his illustrious kickboxing career.
“I’ve spent a lot of time studying this opponent and I felt like I knew his fighting style well so I was able to put together a solid game plan and execute it successfully,” Petrosyan said. “Now I’m looking forward to getting some rest, and we will let Scott Coker and Carlo DiBlasi decide what is next for me.”
John Wayne Parr knocked out Nando Calzetta with a head kick, Mustapha Haida bested Enriko Kehl via split decision and Gaston Bolanos defeated Luca D’Isanto to complete the card.
