A.J. McKee vs. Roberto Souza Tops Bellator vs. Rizin Lineup on New Year’s Eve

A.J. McKee will face Rizin Fighting Federation lightweight king Roberto de Souza in the main event of Bellator vs. Rizin-themed offering on New Year’s Eve.

Four of the five main-card matchups for the event were announced during a press conference on Wednesday. In the co-headliner, reigning Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire will lock horns with Rizin 145-pound title holder Kleber Koike Erbst. Additionally, former Bellator bantamweight king Juan Archuleta will lock horns with two-division Road FC kingpin Soo Chul Kim, while Kyoji Horiguchi returns to the flyweight division to take on Rizin grand prix winner Hiromasa Ougikubo. A fifth main-card pairing will be announced at a later date.

The event is officially entitled Rizin 40 and takes place on Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The fights will be contested in a ring under Rizin rules, which allow soccer kicks and knees to a grounded opponent. Rizin 40 will be broadcast live in Japan but airs via tape delay on Showtime in the United States. No titles will be on the line.

A former featherweight champion, McKee made his 155-pound debut at Bellator 286, where he defeated UFC veteran Spike Carlyle via unanimous decision on Oct. 1. The Team Bodyshop standout has been victorious in 19 of 20 professional appearances — with his lone setback coming in a five-round decision loss to Freire this past April.

Souza, meanwhile, has finished five consecutive opponents under the Rizin banner to run his professional mark to 14-1. Most recently, “Satoshi” used a reverse triangle armbar to tap Johnny Case in the opening round to retain his lightweight belt at Rizin 35.

Freire is regarded as one of the greatest fighters to ever compete under the Bellator banner. He is in the midst of his third reign as the promotion’s featherweight champion after regaining the belt with a five-round verdict over McKee at Bellator 277. Most recently, the 35-year-old Brazilian defended the crown with a decision win against Adam Borics in the Bellator 286 headliner.

Erbst captured the Rizin 145-pound strap with a second-round submission of Juntaro Ushiku at Rizin 39 on Oct. 23. The former KSW champion enters the matchup with Freire on a seven-bout winning streak in which he has finished all of his opponents by way of submission.

Archuleta snapped a two-bout skid in his last outing, as he outpointed UFC veteran Erique Barzola at Bellator 286. “The Spaniard” is 26-4 over the course of his professional tenure, with titles in Bellator and King of the Cage to his credit.

South Korea’s Kim has been victorious in seven of his last eight outings. Most recently, he earned a unanimous decision victory against Ougikubo at Rizin 38. Prior to that, he regained the Road FC featherweight crown by knocking out Hae Jin Park in a rematch on May 14.

Horiguchi has competed primarily at bantamweight in recent years but initially made his mark at 125 pounds, where he unsuccuessfully challenged Demetrious Johnson for the UFC belt in April 2015. After winning seven of eight appearances in the Octagon at flyweight, Horiguchi defeated Yuki Motoya in a 128-pound catchweight in his Rizin debut but has fought at bantamweight since then.

Ougikubo had a five-bout winning streak snapped in his loss to Kim at Rizin 38. His triumph in the Rizin bantamweight grand prix included a pair of wins over Naoki Inoue and Kai Asakura last New Year’s Eve.

𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝-𝙪𝙥𝙨 👊

On NYE, 5️⃣ of the very best from Bellator MMA will collide with 5️⃣ of @rizin_PR's top stars 🇯🇵

Watch #BellatorvsRizin on @SHOsports. pic.twitter.com/QX0PpW2CwZ

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) October 26, 2022