With Rafael Lovato Jr. relinquishing his 185-pound title on Monday due to an ongoing medical issue, welterweight champion Douglas Lima will face Gegard Mousasi for the vacant belt. The middleweight championship takes place at Bellator 243 on May 9 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif.
Bellator President Scott Coker made the co-main event bout official on Tuesday afternoon.
Since we can’t have a cross-promotional superfight I’ll give you another.
? On May 9, @Mousasi_MMA vs. @PhenomLima for the vacant @BellatorMMA middleweight world championship. pic.twitter.com/8TVpcWP9sa
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) February 11, 2020
Douglas Lima vs. Gegard Mousasi for 185-pound Bellator gold
Lima (32-7) is currently riding a three-fight winning streak. All three victories came in the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix. Most recently the 32-year-old defeated Rory MacDonald in a rematch to be crowned welterweight champion.
Mousasi (46-7-2) won the middleweight gold in 2018, but lost the title in mid-2019 to Lovato Jr. Since that blemish on his rap sheet, the veteran picked up a split-decision victory against Lyoto Machida at Bellator 228 this past September.
Bellator 243 will air live on the Paramount Network and online on DAZN. The main event features a battle for the light heavyweight title, as champion Ryan Bader squares off against Vadim Nemkov.
***
Stay tuned right here at MMA Sucka for more live streams as well as videos highlighting the top fighters, commentators, coaches, promoters and other names in MMA and combat sports. We also bring you great offers on the latest MMA products and merchandise. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel for regular updates and all the latest fight news. You can also check out our sister site, at TheFightBuzz.com for the latest from the world of MMA and other combat sports.
