HEXAGONE MMA 8: Renewed fight card for Beziers

HEXAGONE MMA has renewed the fight card for its postponed Beziers event. Taking place on 4 August in France’s original bullfighting arena (Arènes De Béziers), HEXAGONE MMA 8 will be broadcast internationally on DAZN.

Still topping the card in the headliner are Dean Garnett (10-2-1, UK) and Lucas Corbage (11-1, Argentina) in a world featherweight title clash. The Liverpudlian, Garnett, made his name across promotions such as Cage Warriors and Bellator, famously turning down his call to the UFC to meet Magomed Magomedov at ACB. The majority of his wins (50%) are by submission, with only 30% left to the judges’ scorecards. His most recent victory at HEXAGONE MMA 6 was by KO at 20 seconds into the first round. Fighting out of Nova União Argentina, Corbage comes from a fight team traditionally renowned for its Brazilian jiu jitsu but which also boasts international MMA names, with José Aldo as its most prominent export. Corbage has 6 x 1st round finishes to his name with 36% obtained by submission and 36% via strikes over a nine-year professional career.

The anticipated women’s strawweight match-up between Karla Benitez (19-16-1, Venezuela) and Stephanie Ielo Page (7-4-0, France) also graces the main card still. Both fighters will be looking to redeem themselves from recent losses. Benitez was defeated by former champion Laetitia Blot at HEXAGONE MMA 6, following a prior win over Lucie Bertaud at HEXAGONE MMA 3. Based in Spain, the Venezuelan brings long international experience from across shows that include Hombres de Honour, Bellator and Super Fight League. Of her recorded finishes, 63% have been obtained by strikes. 34-year-old, Bellator veteran Stephanie Ielo Page lost to Eva Dourthe (France) by Unanimous Decision at HEXAGONE MMA 6. Before converting to MMA, Page attained success with five world championships in Thai boxing and four world titles in K1.

Among changes to the card, the most significant is the cancellation of Anthony Rea’s return fight, with a lightweight match between Wilson Varela (9-5, Portugal) and Nair Melikyan (14-1, Armenia) moving to the second spot. The card also features an opponent replacement for Brit Jack Claffey.

Claffey performed on WWE between 2016 and 2020 with the NXT and 205 Live brands, following a 10-year career on the independent professional wrestling circuit. His break on WWE came with the tournament Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 after which he signed with the promotion. In 2022, the 33-year-old took his first bare-knuckle boxing fight with BKFC to score a KO victory, while he holds a 2–0 record at amateur level in MMA. In Beziers, the Englishman will be looking to recover from the loss he incurred in his pro-MMA debut last year. Claffey is now set to face Simon Kevin (1 – 0) of France, who attained his first professional win by guillotine choke at 1:29 into the first round.

See below for the updated HEXAGONE MMA 8 fight card.

HEXAGONE MMA 8 FIGHT CARD

World Featherweight CHAMPIONSHIP – Men’s 65.8kg / 145 lbs:

Dean Garnett (UK, 10-2-1) vs. Lucas Corbage (11-1, Argentina)

Lightweight Bout – Men’s 70.3 kg / 155lbs:

Wilson Varela (9-5, Portugal) vs. Nair Melikyan (14-1, Armenia)

Strawweight Bout – Women’s 52.2 kg / 115lbs:

Karla Benitez (19-16-1, Venezuela) vs. Ielo Page (7-5, France)

Featherweight Bout – Men’s 65.8 kg / 145 lbs:

Jack Claffey (0-1, England) vs. Simon Kevin (1-0, France)

Middleweight Bout – Men’s 83.9 kg / 185 lbs:

Gyorgy Komuves (1-1, Hungary) vs. Lazaro Maza Blanco (0-0, Spain)