Sergio Pettis is set to defend his bantamweight title. The recently crowned champ has a date and opponent for his first title defense as the Milwaukee native will take on former titleholder Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 272 on Dec. 3. The pair will meet in the main event set to be hosted at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Pettis earned the title with a grueling decision win over champion Juan Archuleta in May. Pettis, 28, has won four straight fights, including three in a row inside the Bellator cage to claim the belt. He surprisingly left UFC after taking a decision in a flyweight bout over Tyson Nam in September 2019 and has since looked incredible back at 135 pounds.
Horiguchi, meanwhile, returns to Bellator after an extended run with RIZIN. The Japanese superstar made one appearance previously in the Bellator cage, earning a decision over Darrion Caldwell to claim the bantamweight crown in a champion vs. champion fight — the second time he had beat Caldwell in a six-month span. Horiguchi, however, was forced to vacate the belt when he suffered an injury just a few months later.
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Horiguchi has just one loss in his 15 bouts since 2015.
