Bellator 181: Girtz vs. Campos 3 took place on July 14, 2017, at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The main event featured Brandon Girtz against Derek Campos in a rubber match. Campos won the pair's initial meeting in June 2013 at Bellator 96 by unanimous decision. Girtz avenged the loss in November 2015 at Bellator 146, where he won by knockout in the first round.
Bellator 174: Coenen vs. Budd was held on March 3, 2017 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV. The main event featured Marloes Coenen versus Julia Budd for the inaugural Bellator women's featherweight title.[6] This was the first time a woman's bout has headlined a Bellator card. Kendall Grove was originally scheduled to face Chris Honeycutt at this event. However, Honeycutt was removed from the bout on February 28 and replaced by three-time UFC veteran and Bellator newcomer Mike Rhodes. Rhodes then failed to make weight and the fight was cancelled. Joe Taimanglo was scheduled to face Steve Garcia on this card. However, the fight was removed from the card after Taimanglo missed weight.
Bellator 189: Budd vs. Blencowe 2 took place December 1, 2017 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV. In the Bellator 189 main event, women's featherweight champion Julia Budd faced Arlene Blencowe in a rematch. The pair originally fought at Bellator 162 with Budd winning via majority decision. The co-main event was a middleweight bout between Rafael Lovato Jr. and Chris Honeycutt.
