RIZIN Fighting Federation and Bellator are back in business together for a big upcoming collaborative event.
The latest installment of BROADENED HORIZIN brings you one of 2023’s early stars between both promotions, the former Bellator Bantamweight champion, Juan Archuleta. “The Spaniard” is officially set to battle for the vacant RIZIN Bantamweight title when he takes on former titleholder, Kai Asakura, at Super RIZIN 2 on July 30, 2023.
Archuleta’s clash with Asakura will be his third consecutive fight inside the RIZIN ring. At RIZIN 42 earlier this month (May 6, 2023), Archuleta put on a thrilling scramble-heavy performance, defeating top contender, Naoki Inoue, via a unanimous decision. The win acted as a solid follow-up to Archuleta’s Dec. 2022 debut where he won a hard-fought split decision against South Korea’s Soo Chul Kim.
With a potential triumph over Asakura, Archuleta hopes it can lead to an eventual champion vs. champion bout once everything is sorted out between Sergio Pettis, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, and Patchy Mix in Bellator.
Alongside Archuleta for the show was another returning guest, Claire Lopez. The French fighting sensation is fresh off a successful debut at RIZIN Landmark 5 last month (April 29, 2023). Tasked with Japanese superstar and top Atomweight, Rena Kubota, Lopez pulled off a Submission of the Year contender, defeating Kubota with a third-round kneebar.
Lopez finds herself in a comfortable spot with plenty of opportunities between fighting in RIZIN and her original fighting home of Combate Global.
Watch the full episode in the video embedded above or listen on Spotify.
BROADENED HORIZIN Ep. 27 AUDIO – 以下の日本語版:
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
