The promotion recently confirmed the pairing. Both Kongo and Ayala were previously revealed as alternates for Bellator’s ongoing heavyweight grand prix. Bellator 199 takes place on May 12 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., and will feature a grand prix bout pitting Ryan Bader against Muhammed Lawal.
Kongo enters the matchup on a five-bout winning streak. Most recently, the UFC veteran earned a split decision over Augusto Sakai at Bellator 179 this past May. The Frenchman is 9-2 during his tenure with the Scott-Coker led promotion.
Ayala, meanwhile, dropped a unanimous decision to Roy Nelson in his most recent outing at Bellator 183. Prior to that, the 29-year-old Californian had scored back-to-back knockout wins over Sergei Kharitonov and Roy Boughton.