Former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho is set to make his debut in a new promotion.
On Friday, LFA announced that Carvalho will headline LFA 107 on May 14 against Sharaf Davlatmurodov also making his promotional debut. The booking was part of an announcement that included the lineup for LFA 108 on May 21. Both events will take place at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and stream on UFC Fight Pass.
Carvalho, 34, won Bellator’s 185-pound title in October 2015 with a TKO of Brandon Halsey. Carvalho (16-5) went on to defend his title three times – part of an overall 15-fight winning streak – before losing it to Gegard Mousasi by first-round TKO in May 2018 at Bellator 200. That kickstarted a downswing for Carvalho, who’s dropped four of his past five, resulting in his release from Bellator.
Davlatmurodov (17-3-1), who fights out of Tajikistan, made his professional in 2015 and went on an 11-fight unbeaten streak that included a draw. He’s rebounded from back-to-back losses with his current five-fight winning streak, which includes three finishes.
Below are the lineups for LFA 107 and LFA 108:
LFA 107 (UFC Fight Pass, 9 p.m. ET, May 14)
- Rafael Carvalho vs. Sharaf Davlatmurodov
- Vernon Lewis vs. Alejandro Solorzano
- Ricardo Dias vs. George Garcia
- Anthony Garrett vs. Jordan Heiderman
LFA 108 (UFC Fight Pass, 9 p.m. ET, May 21)
- Josh Fremd vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Mark Climaco vs. Rodney Kealohi
- Clayton Carpenter vs. Nick Clem
