Bellator MMA will return early in December with a title fight.
And it is a good one.
Sergio Pettis will defend his bantamweight belt against Kyoji Horiguchi. The card takes place Friday, December 3 live on Showtime from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
For Pettis, this will be his first title defense. He claimed the belt with a win over Juan Archuleta back in May.
The younger brother of Anthony Pettis, Sergio Pettis has quickly positioned himself among the elite at bantamweight.
Pettis is unbeaten in his last four, scoring a submission and three decisions. He has also squared off with Henry Cejudo, Joseph Benavidez, current UFC champion Brandon Moreno and Jussier Formiga while competing at flyweight.
But he’ll be in for a test with Horiguchi.
A former Bellator and current Rizin champion, Horiguchi won the title vs. Darrion Caldwell. An injury, though, forced him to vacate the belt.
Horiguchi is a former UFC title contender and has been one of the best at bantamweight for several years. The 31-year-old returned in December and stopped Kai Asakura to claim the Rizin title.
He is 28-3 overall with wins over Caldwell (twice), Ian McCall, Louis Gaudinot and a tough submission loss in the fifth round to Demetrious Johnson on his resume.
The card also features Emmanuel Sanchez battling Jeremy Kennedy, Johnny Eblen going up against Collin Huckbody and Jay Jay Wilson taking on Alfie Davis.