Arlene Blencowe Isn’t Looking Past Leslie Smith at Bellator 233

Arlene Blencowe faces Leslie Smith this Friday at Bellator 233. While they are not the main event, there are certainly future-headlining opportunities for the winner. Blencowe is on a two-fight win streak and she is aware of a chance at redemption and becoming champion if she manages to get past Smith.

Her only losses in Bellator are two to Julia Budd, and one to Marloes Coenen. She is certainly a force to be familiar with in Bellator’s women’s featherweight division and a win over someone like Smith would certainly put her in a conversation. She told Sherdog that she was under the impression the win over Amanda Bell at Bellator 224 did that for her, but that was before Cris Cyborg and Leslie Smith came into the mix. When asked if there was any talk of it with a win over Smith, she said, “Yeah, there is talk of it but now with Cat Zingano signed, who really knows?”

With the fight with Smith only days away, she cannot afford to be distracted with what comes after. Keeping that in mind she added, “I just know that I'm going to stay on my path and keep winning my fights. Focus on the fight that's in front of me which is Leslie [Smith].” Of course, she would not mind a title shot with a win though. "I'm not looking past that fight at the moment. Obviously, it would be ideal that'd be a title contention fight but, yeah the moment my focus is purely on Leslie."

When Bellator MMA Scott Coker was in New York City doing media for Bellator 231 and 232, he hinted at a women’s grand prix in 2020 but did not say which weight class. Blencowe said she has already expressed interest in it. "I’m here to fight," said the martial artist. "Yeah, I’m interested in any fight. There were talks with my camp and potentially other weight divisions. I’m definitely interested."

Blencowe and Smith face each other this Friday at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, and the card will air live on Paramount Network and Dazn.

Edward Carbajal serves as the lead MMA analyst for Frontproof Media and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a brown belt in Ishin Ryu karate. He has covered combat sports since 2014 and has been a fan of MMA since the first UFC. You can follow him on Twitter @Carbazel or at his website TheBlogBoardJungle.com.