Aline Pereira defends Karate Combat flyweight title against former Bellator champion Juliana Velasquez in Miami

Karate Combat will stage a featured flyweight title fight on July 24 in Miami, with champion Aline Pereira set to defend her belt against former Bellator champion Juliana Velasquez. The matchup pairs Pereira’s Karate Combat run under its ruleset with Velasquez’s history in major MMA promotions, creating a title fight built as much on contrasting backgrounds as on weight class stakes.

Pereira’s name carries immediate attention because she is the sister of UFC champion Alex Pereira, but her booking is about her own credentials in Karate Combat. According to coverage ahead of the event, she has been unbeaten under Karate Combat rules, scoring consecutive wins that include stoppages, and she previously won a vacant flyweight title in a decision in July 2025. Her return at Karate Combat 62 is framed as a defense, meaning the promotion is treating her belt as a core piece of the event’s top billing.

Velasquez arrives with a different résumé style. MMA Fighting’s event preview describes her as a former Bellator champion who is moving to Karate Combat after a career that includes title fights in Bellator and other high-level bouts. The same preview notes that after Bellator’s acquisition by the PFL, Velasquez went 2-2 under PFL’s banner, with her most recent appearance ending in a decision win that snapped a prior setback.

What makes the fight more than a simple “new promotion, familiar name” story is the transition between rule sets and competitive ecosystems. Karate Combat emphasizes striking and the promotion’s tournament-like title context, while Velasquez’s Bellator tenure was shaped by MMA’s grappling and pacing demands. How Velasquez adapts to Karate Combat’s structure will be a primary storyline for viewers who follow her specifically for her MMA accomplishments.

The rest of Karate Combat 62, as reported in the same preview, is also built around title stakes, including other championship bouts on the card. With multiple title fights scheduled for the same event date, the Pereira-Velasquez matchup figures into the promotion’s broader effort to define its championship hierarchy across divisions.

For Pereira, the challenge is straightforward: make the defense hold up against a challenger who has been through championship rounds and long-fight preparation at the sport’s highest levels. For Velasquez, the challenge is equally clear: convert the experience of fighting for major MMA belts into success in a striking-focused world where the belt can change hands without the same avenues for control grappling can offer.

It is still early in the lead-up to Karate Combat 62, and full card confirmation details, venue specifics, and any additional bout order updates were not included in the initial reporting referenced here. What to watch next is how each fighter’s skill set translates in the ruleset and whether the promotion’s flyweight title picture becomes more defined after July 24.

Below is what the matchup means on paper: a Karate Combat champion in a guardrail of prior success takes on a Bellator-to-new-promotion former titleholder, with both careers reaching into different forms of the sport but converging on one belt. If the fight plays out with a clear tactical advantage for one style, it could quickly shape how future contenders are viewed in the flyweight division.