Michael Chandler, Patricky ‘Pitbull’ to Vie for Vacant Lightweight Title at Bellator 157

With Will Brooks no longer on the roster, Michael Chandler and Patricky Freiere will get first crack at Bellator MMA’s vacant lightweight championship.

Chandler and Freire will square off at Bellator 157 “Dynamite 2” on June 24 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The matchup was announced during the Bellator 154 broadcast on Saturday night. Bellator President Scott Coker revealed earlier in the day that the promotion released Will Brooks from his contract, freeing the former 155-pound king to field offers as a free agent.

Chandler once held 155-pound gold but would come up short in title bouts against Eddie Alvarez and Brooks (twice). The Power MMA representative is currently on a two-fight winning streak, with finishes of David Rickels and Derek Campos in his last two outings. He defeated Freire via unanimous decision at Bellator 44 in May 2011.

Freire, meanwhile, has won six of his last eight fights within the California-based promotion. Thus far in 2016 “Pitbull” owns a decision win over UFC veteran Edimilson Souza and a first-round knockout of former UFC and Strikeforce talent Ryan Couture.

Bellator 157 is headlined by a showdown between Quinton Jackson and Satoshi Ishii and will also see Matt Mitrione make his promotional debut against Carl Seumanutafa in a featured heavyweight tilt. The main card airs on Spike TV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.