Ex-Middleweight Champion Rafael Carvalho to Face Chidi Njokuani at Bellator 224

Former middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho will square off against Chidi Njokuani at Bellator 224 on July 12.

Sherdog.com confirmed the booking on Monday with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAFighting.com. Bellator 224 takes place at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., and will feature a women’s featherweight title clash between Julia Budd and Olga Rubin.

After relinquishing the middleweight crown to Gegard Mousasi in a first-round TKO defeat at Bellator 200, Carvalho dropped a split verdict to former UFC light heavyweight titlist Lyoto Machida in his most recent outing at Bellator 213. Prior to those setbacks, the 32-year-old Rio de Janeiro native had won 15 consecutive bouts — including six in Bellator.

Njokuani, meanwhile, has lost two of his last three appearances within the California-based promotion, sandwiching a decision win over Hisaki Kato between a TKO loss to Andrey Koreshkov and a submission defeat against John Salter. The 30-year-old Las Vegas resident began his Bellator tenure with four consecutive triumphs.