Lyoto Machida to Make Bellator MMA Debut Against Rafael Carvalho in Hawaii on Dec. 15

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida will make his Bellator MMA debut against Rafael Carvalho when the promotion travels to Hawaii on Dec. 15.

Bellator President Scott Coker informed ESPN.com of the matchup on Wednesday. The event takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and streams live on DAZN. The card will be headlined by a flyweight title tilt between Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Valerie Letourneau.

Machida parted ways with the UFC earlier this year following back-to-back wins over Eryk Anders and Vitor Belfort. In addition to holding light heavyweight gold, the 40-year-old Brazilian also challenged for the middleweight crown during his tenure with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Carvalho saw a 15-fight winning streak come to an end at Bellator 200, when he relinquished the middleweight crown to Gegard Mousasi in a first-round TKO defeat. The 32-year-old Brazilian began his Bellator career with six straight wins, besting the likes of Melvin Manhoef (twice), Alessio Sakara, Brandon Halsey and Joe Schilling.