[email protected] steps in on short notice
to face @DA_Monsoon
at
#Bellator258.Catch their bout via our YouTube channel on Friday, May 7th.
pic.twitter.com/hS7z8qcyia— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA)
May 1, 2021
After parting ways with the promotion late last year, former
middleweight champion Rafael
Carvalho will return on short notice to face Lorenz
Larkin at
Bellator 258.
Carvalho is a last-minute replacement for Costello
van Steenis, who withdrew from the bout last week. Bellator
announced the new pairing Saturday on social media. Carvalho had
previously been scheduled to face Sharaf
Davlatmurodov at LFA 107 on May 14.
Bellator 258 takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.,
on Friday and is headlined by a bantamweight title tilt between
Juan
Archuleta and Sergio
Pettis. The card will air on Showtime.
Carvalho exited Bellator after losing four of his last five
appearances within the California-based promotion, including a
decision defeat against Alex
Polizzi in his last outing this past September. He began his
Bellator tenure with six consecutive triumphs, a stretch that
featured a title-winning KO of Brandon
Halsey and three successful defenses of the belt.
Larkin last appeared at Bellator 237 in December 2019, when he
outpointed Keita
Nakamura. The former UFC and Strikeforce competitor is
currently on a four-bout winning streak that also includes wins
over Andrey
Koreshkov, Ion Pascu and
Fernando
Gonzalez.