TOKYO – There has been a shakeup to this week’s Bellator X Rizin event, which takes place Sunday, July 30 (Saturday, July 29 in America).
Rizin lightweight world champion Roberto “Satoshi” De Souza (15-2) has replaced A.J. McKee, who has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to medical reasons. “Satoshi” joins the star-studded lightweight world grand prix and now faces former Bellator lightweight world champion Patricky “Pitbull” Freire (24-11).
“Bellator X Rizin: ‘Pitbull’ vs. de Souza” emanates from the world-famous Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The bout will take place at a contract weight of 161 pounds and remains a five-round Bellator lightweight world grand prix quarterfinal fight. Showtime is set to air the Bellator portion of the event live in the U.S. on Saturday, July 29 at 11 p.m. ET.
Please note, Rizin’s portion of the event, which follows Bellator’s. will air in the U.S. on FITE TV. In Japan, both portions will air on U-NEXT.
In the co-main event former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi (31-5) challenges Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi (16-1-1) for the inaugural Bellator flyweight world championship.
While the five Bellator matchups will be taking place in the Bellator cage under the Unified Rules of MMA, the Rizin fights will be taking place in their normal ring and feature a trio of Bellator stars. With today’s news, Bellator featherweight world champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (35-6) is set to take on Chihiro Suzuki (10-3) in a non-title fight at a contract weight of 154 pounds, while former champion Juan Archuleta (28-4) faces Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-7-2) at bantamweight, and Tofiq Musayev (20-5) squares up with Akira Okada (19-9-4) at lightweight.
Bellator X Rizin 2’s headliner, Patricky “Pitbull,” is one of Bellator’s longest-tenured and most accomplished athletes. Tied for the promotion’s all-time knockout record, “Pitbull” captured the lightweight world championship previously in 2021, and now “Pitbull” hopes to make one last, valiant run at the 155-pound title by blitzing his way through the talent-stacked Bellator lightweight world grand prix – starting with the dangerous Rizin champion de Souza.
De Souza, known by many as “Satoshi,” has been a force to be reckoned with throughout his 10-year professional MMA career. The reigning Rizin lightweight Champion earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from his father Adilson de Souza and won multiple jiu-jitsu world championships. The 33-year-old de Souza most recently scored a unanimous decision victory over Spike Carlyle at Rizin FF 42 in May.
Patricio “Pitbull,” the reigning Bellator featherweight world champion, is among the greatest MMA fighters to ever compete professionally. The 36-year-old stands alone atop the Bellator record books in the categories for wins, fights, and championship victories, and he joined the elite few to ever hold championships in two weight classes with his 2019 first-round knockout of then-lightweight world champion Michael Chandler. Today, “Pitbull” continues to helm the 145-pound division and most recently dared to challenge for the bantamweight title in a bid for an unprecedented status of triple-champion.
The latest in a long line of young Japanese prospects eager to make their mark on the combat sports world, Suzuki has amassed a stellar MMA record while simultaneously competing at a high level in kickboxing. Suzuki, 24, has been electric since joining Rizin follow a flyweight tournament championship-winning run in Pancrase, most recently facing then-Rizin featherweight champion Kleber Koike. With four of his 10 wins coming by way of knockout, it is no surprise that Suzuki also captured the inaugural KNOCK OUT super lightweight championship while going 12-1 (10 KO) as a kickboxer.
“Bellator X Rizin: Pitbull vs. de Souza”
- Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Roberto de Souza – lightweight world grand prix quarterfinals
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto “Shinryu” Takahashi – for inaugural flyweight title
- Kana Watanabe vs. Veta Arteaga
- Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello
- Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin
