Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis will be defending his title against RIZIN champion Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 272 on December 03.
An exciting bout for the Bellator bantamweight championship has been announced as Sergio Pettis will meet reigning RIZIN champion Kyoji Horiguchi in the main event of Bellator 272 on December 3. MMA Junkie was first to report the news.
Bellator officials later announced the fight via press release.
Pettis (21-5) looks to continue his impressive 4-0 run that has seen him rise to the top of Bellator’s growing bantamweight division. The UFC veteran joined the promotion in free agency in 2019 and since then has gone 3-0 with victories over Alfred Kashakyan, Ricky Bandejas, and Juan Archuleta to win the title. The run comes after a successful stint in the UFC that saw him face competition such as current flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and perennial title contender Joseph Benavidez.
Horiguchi made waves by officially becoming a part of the Bellator roster earlier this year despite being the reigning champion in RIZIN. Horiguchi remains the RIZIN champion, but his focus will be on competing in Bellator until covid restrictions ease for him to be able to travel to Japan to compete on occasion for RIZIN. Horiguchi previously unified the titles by winning the Bellator championship back in 2019. He would go on to lose to his RIZIN title to Kai Asakura the same year and injuries following the bout led him to vacate the Bellator title. Horiguchi returned to action in late December and reclaimed the RIZIN title.
The event is expected to take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
