Saturday’s Bellator x Rizin 2 has been hit with a pair of changes to the lineup during fight week, including the loss of one half of the main event.
[autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag], who was set to take on [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] in a lightweight grand prix quarterfinal bout, is now out with a medical issue. Stepping in to face Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) on short notice is RIZIN lightweight champion [autotag]Roberto de Souza[/autotag] (15-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in the new main event, the promotions announced during a joint news conference Wednesday local time.
Details about McKee’s medical issues were not disclosed, but a Bellator official told MMA Junkie he will be an alternate in the tournament moving forward. De Souza is now officially in the Bellator lightweight grand prix, and the bout against Patricky Freire will be five rounds. However, due to the short-notice nature of the change, the bout will be contested at 161 pounds.
In addition to a shift in the headliner, a late addition will see the other “Pitbull,” Bellator featherweight champion [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag] (35-6 MMA), take on [autotag]Chihiro Suzuki[/autotag] (10-3) in a 154-pound catchweight contest – an additional bout added to the event on just days’ notice. This bout will take place on the RIZIN portion of the event, which follows the five-fight Bellator segment of the card.
Bellator X Rizin 2 takes place at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event airs live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET. The co-feature bout will crown an inaugural Bellator flyweight champion, as Kyoji Horiguchi takes on Makoto Shinryu.
With the changes, the Bellator X Rizin 2 lineup includes:
- Patricky Freire vs. Roberto de Souza – lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu – inaugural flyweight title
- Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello
- Veta Arteaga vs. Kana Watanabe
- Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.