Carvalho-Mousasi Title Bout, Page-Rickels Booked for Bellator 200 in London

A middleweight championship clash between Rafael Carvalho and Gegard Mousasi has been booked for Bellator 200 in London on May 25, the promotion announced Monday.

Bellator 200 takes place at the SSE Arena in Wembley and will be televised on the Paramount Network. The California-based promotion also announced that flamboyant British striker Michael Page will square off against David Rickels in a featured welterweight affair. It is unclear if Carvalho vs. Mousasi will serve as the headliner for the event because Bellator is still working on the card. Sherdog.com confirmed with a promotion official that Bellator 200 will air via tape delay in the United States as has been the case with previous international cards.

“Bellator continues to place a huge emphasis on its expansion into markets around the globe and creating a strong presence in the U.K. is a very important part of that,” Bellator President Scott Coker said in a release. “Our fans are going to be excited about the card we put together for this monumental event, as Bellator 200 will be one of our greatest to date.”

Carvalho captured the middleweight crown with a body-kick KO of Brandon Halsey at Bellator 144. The 31-year-old Brazilian has since defended the belt with victories over Melvin Manhoef (twice) and a 44-second stoppage of Alessio Sakara in his most recent outing at Bellator 190. Carvalho owns a 15-1 career record with 12 wins via KO or TKO.

Mousasi, meanwhile, signed with Bellator on the heels of a five-fight winning streak in the UFC that included triumphs over the likes of Chris Weidman, Thiago Santos and Vitor Belfort. The former Strikeforce champion made his promotional debut on Oct. 20, when he captured a unanimous decision over former 185-pound champ Alexander Shlemenko.

Page will return to action for the first time since a split-decision triumph against Fernando Gonzalez in November 2016 at Bellator 165. “Venom” is 12-0 as a professional, and all but two of his victories have come by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

A former lightweight challenger, Rickels is unbeaten in his last four outings. “The Caveman” last appeared at Bellator 189, where he outpointed Adam Piccolotti on Dec. 1.