Kyoji Horiguchi will attempt to hold titles in two promotions when he faces Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222.
A promotion official confirmed the bantamweight matchup to Sherdog.com on Monday following an initial report from ESPN.com. Caldwell’s Bellator belt will be on the line in the rematch. Bellator 222 takes place on June 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York and is headlined by a clash between Chael Sonnen and Lyoto Machida.
Horiguchi retained his Rizin bantamweight crown by submitting Caldwell with a guillotine choke in the third round of their first meeting on New Year’s Eve. He returned to action at Rizin 15 on April 21, when he knocked out former UFC competitor Ben Nguyen 2:52 into the opening frame. The American Top Team representative has won 12 consecutive fights since losing a five-round decision to Demetrious Johnson in a flyweight championship bout at UFC 186.
Caldwell has not competed since Horiguchi ended his four-fight winning streak at Rizin 14. The former NCAA champion wrestler captured bantamweight gold with a five-round verdict over Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 184 and defended the title with a first-round submission of Leandro Higo at Bellator 195. “The Wolf” then returned to 145 pounds to score a knockout of Noad Lahat at Bellator 204 before coming up short under the Rizin banner.