Bellator MMA’s lightweight grand prix has undergone a significant
change-up just days before the final quarterfinal was set to take
place.
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The promotion announced on Tuesday that Rizin Fighting Federation
lightweight champion Roberto
Satoshi de Souza will repace A.J. McKee and
face Patricky
Freire in the 155-pound bracket. McKee, the ex-Bellator
featherweight king, was forced to withdraw from the event due to a
medical issue.
“This is a situation where medically A.J. cannot continue into our
quarterfinals,” Coker said at a press conference. “He will be our
first alternate. You never know what’s going to happen in the
future.”
Satoshi has won six of his last seven professional outings, most
recently outpointing Spike
Carlyle in a non-title bout at Rizin 42 on May 6. His lone
defeat came via unanimous decision at the hands of McKee at the
Bellator vs. Rizin event last December.
Freire, meanwhile, relinquished Bellator’s lightweight crown in a
five-round decision loss to Usman
Nurmagomedov this past November. The 37-year-old Brazilian has
lost three of his last four professional outings.
Freire vs. Satoshi will serve as the featured bout for the Bellator
portion of the dual event on Saturday, which also includes a
separate Rizin card. The event takes place at Saitama Super Arena
in Saitama, Japan, and will also see Kyoji
Horiguchi face Makoto Takahasi for the inaugural Bellator
flyweight title.