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A.J. McKee is set to fight Patricky Pitbull in the following quarterfinals of the Bellator Lightweight Grand Prix, which will take place on July 30 at Bellator x RIZIN 2 in Saitama, Japan.
Along with the main event, the first Bellator flyweight champion will be crowned as Kyoji Horiguchi will take on Makoto “Shinruy” Takahashi at 125 pounds.
Bellator officials introduced the event alongside the fights during a press conference held in Japan. The event will take place on Sunday, July 30 in Japan, but broadcast information for the United States is yet to be determined.
McKee comes back to Japan after defeating Roberto de Souza in the previous Bellator x RIZIN card on New Year’s Eve. After reigning as the Bellator flyweight champion, he moved to the lightweight division and secured two consecutive victories, with his upcoming matchup against Pitbull being his next challenge.
Pitbull, who previously lost the Bellator lightweight title to reigning champion Usman Nurmagomedov, seeks to get back on track as he faces McKee after his brother Patricio Pitbull split a pair of fights with McKee in the past.
In the co-main event, Horiguchi will attempt to become the first Bellator flyweight champion, as this is the first time the organization introduces a men’s 125-pound division. Although he mostly competed in the bantamweight division in recent years, Horiguchi has shown to be one of the top flyweights in the world, previously competing in the UFC as well.
As for “Shinryu,” the 22-year-old fighter boasts a record of 16-1-1, having secured ten straight wins, including submissions in three of his last four victories.
Women’s flyweights Kana Watanabe and Veta Arteaga are also scheduled to face each other on the Bellator x RIZIN 2 card in July.
During the event, the Bellator fights will take place inside a cage, while the RIZIN fights will happen inside the ring. Bellator fighters Juan Archuleta and Tofiq Musayev will compete in the RIZIN portion of the event, with Archuleta facing former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura for the vacant RIZIN belt.