Bellator MMA’s middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will defend his 185-pound title against Rafael Lovato Jr. on Jan. 26 in Inglewood, California, the promotion announced on Monday.
Mousasi (45-6-2) is coming off a terrific performance in September, knocking out welterweight champion Rory MacDonald in the second round of a champion vs. champion title bout.
Fighting out of Leiden, Netherlands, Mousasi is riding an 8-fight win streak, including victories over MacDonald, Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort. Mousasi was in the thick of middleweight title contention in the UFC, when he elected to part ways with the company last year and sign with Bellator.
Lovato Jr. (9-0), of Oklahoma City, was the obvious choice for Mousasi’s next title defense. The 35-year-old is 5-0 in the Bellator cage, with four finishes.
Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix finals matchup between Fedor Emelianenko (38-5) and Ryan Bader (26-5) will headline the Jan. 26 event, which is set to take place at The Forum. The event will go head-to-head with the UFC, which has a UFC 233 pay-per-view scheduled on the same date in Anaheim.