One of the big matchups set for the Bellator vs. Rizin 2 event this weekend has had a major shakeup with the news that AJ McKee has been forced out of the event due to medical reasons.
Bellator officials confirmed McKee's enforced withdrawal from the event, and announced that taking his place on the card, and in the quarter-finals of the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix, will be Rizin lightweight champion Roberto "Satoshi" Souza, who steps in to take on former Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull in a tournament quarter-final bout at the Saitama Super Arena this weekend.
Due to the short-notice nature of the matchup, the bout has been agreed at a contract weight of 161 pounds, but will remain a five-round matchup in the Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix. Victory for either man will see them progress to the semi-finals, and one step closer to the tournament title and $1 million.
The fight card in Saitama has also been bolstered by the addition of another huge star, with Patricio Pitbull set to take on Chihiro Suzuki in a 154-pound matchup. The bout will form part of the Super Rizin 2 portion of the event, which will round out the event in Japan.
The show, which features 13 bouts, will be run across two cards. The first part of the card is branded Bellator vs. Rizin 2, with the other two portions forming the Super Rizin 2 event. That portion of the show features three Rizin championship bouts, with Mikuru Asakura facing Vugar Karamov for the featherweight belt, while former Bellator champ Juan Archuleta takes on Hiromasa Ougikubo for the promotion's bantamweight title. Also set for action is super atomweight champion Seika Izawa, who takes on French challenger Claire Lopez.
Bellator vs. Rizin / Super Rizin 2: Full fight card
SUPER RIZIN 2
- Mikuru Asakura vs. Vugar Karamov – for Rizin featherweight title
- Juan Archuleta vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo – for Rizin bantamweight title
- Seika Izawa vs. Claire Lopez – for Rizin super atomweight title
- Tofiq Musayev vs. Akira
- Kenta Takizawa vs. Shinobu Ota
- Daichi Abe vs. Igor Tanabe
- Yuki Ito vs. Hiroya
BELLATOR VS. RIZIN 2
- Patricky Pitbull vs. Roberto Souza – Bellator Lightweight World Grand Prix quarter-final
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu – for Bellator flyweight title
- Kana Watanabe vs. Veta Arteaga
- Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello
- Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin
