(Updated at 12:15 a.m. ET on July 26, 2023, with new main event.)
Bellator is far from home this week with another co-promotion with Rizin.
Here’s how to watch Bellator X Rizin 2 in Japan, with a complete Bellator lineup and look at the top fights.
Broadcast and streaming info
Bellator x Rizin 2 takes place Saturday at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The Bellator portion of the card airs on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET.
Main event
Former lightweight champion Patricky Freire (24-11 MMA, 15-9 BMMA) is on a quest to recapture the title. To do it, he’ll have to get there through the 155-pound grand prix. He was set to start with former featherweight champ A.J. McKee (20-1 MMA, 20-1 BMMA), who happens to be his brother Patricio’s biggest rival, in the quarterfinals of the 8-man lightweight tournament with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Instead, McKee pulled out of the fight Wednesday and was replaced by Roberto de Souza (14-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA), who gets a hastily assembled spot in the tournament against an ex-champ. Coincidentally, de Souza’s one Bellator fight came this past New Year’s Eve in Japan, when he lost to McKee by unanimous decision.
Co-main event
The co-feature will see Bellator history made when Kyoji Horiguchi (30-5 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) takes on Makoto Shinryu (16-1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) for the promotion’s inaugural flyweight title. Horiguchi, a former Bellator and Rizin bantamweight champ, has wanted a return to 125 pounds, but Bellator hasn’t had the division until now. Horiguchi and Shinryu fight for the new belt, and the winner will be in the MMA record books.
Showtime main card betting odds
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 11 p.m. ET)
- Patricky Freire (N/A) vs. Roberto de Souza (N/A)– lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
- Kyoji Horiguchi (N/A) vs. Makoto Shinryu (N/A) – for inaugural Bellator flyweight title
- Veta Arteaga (+350) vs. Kana Watanabe (-550)
- Magomed Magomedov (-110) vs. Danny Sabatello (-120)
- Andrey Koreshkov (-165) vs. Lorenz Larkin (+120)
Patricky Freire's best knockouts
Patricky Freire vs. Ryan Scope, Bellator Newcastle full fight video
Magomed Magomedov vs. Enrique Barzola, Bellator 282 full fight video
Veta Arteaga vs. Vanessa Porto, Bellator 283 full fight video
Magomed Magomedov highlights
Full Bellator fight card
MAIN CARD (Showtime, 11 p.m. ET)
- Patricky Freire vs. Roberto de Souza – lightweight grand prix quarterfinal
- Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Makoto Shinryu – for inaugural Bellator flyweight title
- Magomed Magomedov vs. Danny Sabatello
- Veta Arteaga vs. Kana Watanabe
- Andrey Koreshkov vs. Lorenz Larkin
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator x Rizin 2.
