Earlier today we brought you the news that Bellator MMA would be heading to Hawaii for a card on December 15th in Honolulu. The card to be headlined by Hawaii’s own Ilima-Lei Macfarlane as she tries to defend her Flyweight title against former UFC fighter Valerie Letourneau.
Well it didn’t take long for them to start stacking the card because reports now are that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida will make his promotional debut on this card. As first reported by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani,
Lyoto Machida vs. former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho is set for Bellator’s Hawaii debut on Dec. 15, Scott Coker told ESPN. Story coming shortly.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 12, 2018
Machida’s first opponent in his new home is former Bellator Middleweight Champion Rafael Carvalho. Carvalho is coming off of only the second loss of his career. This past May he lost his Middleweight title to current Champion Gegard Mousasi. He defended the Middlweight title three times before the loss.
Machida bounced back after a three fight losing streak with wins over top Middleweight prospect Eryk Anders and legend of the sport Vitor Belfort. A win here would all but guarantee a title shot for Machida, setting up the rematch with Mousasi. A fight Machida won by Unanimous Decision in February of 2014.
