Bellator vs. Rizin 2 is headed back to the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on July 30. The followup to their New Year's Eve collaboration is headlined by a Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals matchup between AJ McKee and Patricky Pitbull, the promotion announced on Saturday.
There is no love lost between former Bellator featherweight champion McKee and Patricky Pitbull, the former lightweight champion. McKee and Patricio Pitbull, Patricky Pitbull's brother, are currently tied 1-1 in a bitter series. McKee is perfect in his first two fights as a lightweight, defeating UFC alum Spike Carlyle and reigning Rizin lightweight champion Roberto de Souza. This is Patricky Pitbull's first fight since losing the lightweight title to Usman Nurmagomedov in November.
The co-main event will crown the inaugural Bellator flyweight champion. Kyoji Horiguchi -- a former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champion who once challenged Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight title -- will face Rizin's Makoto Takahashi, the latter of whom boasts a fantastic 16-1-1 record. A fight between Kana Watanabe and Veta Arteaga is also scheduled.
The structure of Bellator vs. Rizin 2 will differ from the inaugural event. The first card featured five Bellator vs. Rizin fights contested under Rizin rules. This time around, the broadcast will be split into Bellator and Rizin portions. The Bellator fights will be contested under the Unified Rules of MMA while the Rizin portion will be contested in their traditional ring. Bellator fighters Juan Archuleta and Tofiq Musayev are scheduled to compete in the Rizin segment of the event against opponents yet to be announced.
