Julia Budd is still the only women's featherweight champ Bellator has known.
In a rematch of their three-round tilt at Bellator 163 - where Budd won by majority decision - the titleholder got the better of Arlene Blencowe once again in a split call, retaining her title in the main event of Friday's Bellator 189 in Thackerville, Okla.
The razor-close verdict marked Budd's first defense of the title she won with a fourth-round TKO of Marloes Coenen in the division's inaugural championship bout at Bellator 174 this past March, extending her win streak to nine.
Aside from a first round that saw Budd land some knees to Blencowe's body from the clinch and angle for a fruitless takedown against the fence, the pair sporadically traded strikes with negligible damage throughout their five-round rematch.
Blencowe constantly walked Budd down and relied on her boxing, although she had a rough go of finding a home for her mitts with any regularity, while the defending champion scored with kicks to Blencowe's lead leg, managing little else from the outside. At the end of a closely contested, uneventful affair that failed to yield a telling blow, the judges deemed Budd's work from the outside enough to keep the strap around her waist with scores of 49-46, 47-48, and 49-46.
The 34-year-old Blencowe snapped a three-fight win streak with her second loss on points to Budd.
