Brett Johns-Erik Perez Booked for Bantamweight Battle at Bellator 268

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Two battle-tested Bellator MMA bantamweights will look to brawl in October.

The news first came from MMA Junkie, who reported earlier this month that Brett Johns (17-3) would be squaring off against Erik Perez (20-8) at Bellator 268. The two bantamweights will come to blows inside the Footprint Center – formerly known as the Talking Stick Resort Arena – in Phoenix on Oct. 16. The booking was subsequently confirmed by the promotion on Friday.

Johns, a Ultimate Fighting Championship standout that left the organization on a two-fight win streak, joined the Bellator ranks and subsequently dropped a decision to Danny Sabatello in May. Before facing Sabatello, the only two men to defeat Johns were current UFC champ Aljamain Sterling and top-10 contender Pedro Munhoz, while he racked up five victories inside the Octagon. Most notably, he hit a calf slicer on Joe Soto at the “TUF 26” Finale in 2017, thereby becoming the second fighter in UFC history to land such a submission.

Unlike his opponent, Perez won his last fight, when he captured a unanimous verdict over Blaine Shutt also in May. The victory brought an end to a two-fight skid inside the Bellator cage, where he suffered a knockout at the hands of Toby Misech in 2019 and then came up short by decision to Josh Hill in 2020. Like Johns, “Goyito” competed for several years under the UFC banner, and he too left the league on a win streak. As a UFC fighter, the Mexican-born Perez defeated the likes of Francisco Rivera, Felipe Arantes and Taylor Lapilus.

Bellator 268 will take place at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Oct. 16, with a pair of light heavyweight tournament semifinals on tap to cap off the card. In the main event, Vadim Nemkov will defend his 205-pound throne against Anthony Johnson, while ex-champ Ryan Bader contends with Corey Anderson to round out the finals. Additionally, Bellator confirmed a preliminary light heavyweight contest first announced by The Record-Courier between 1-0 upstarts Sullivan Cauley and Deon Clash.