Bellator 222 Preview: MacDonald vs. Gracie / Caldwell vs. Horiguchi
Bellator 222 emanates from the world famous Madison Square Garden this Friday night as two world title fights take the centre stage.
Headlined by the second welterweight grand prix semi-final, champion Rory MacDonald (20-5-1) will look to defend his title for the second time in seven weeks as he takes on rising prospect Neiman Gracie (9-0).
MacDonald claimed Bellator’s 170 lbs crown in January 2018 with a unanimous decision victory over the already confirmed grand prix finalist Douglas Lima before advancing to the semi-finals following a majority draw against Jon Fitch.
Gracie meanwhile earned his spot in the semi-finals with a submission win over Ed Ruth and despite his inexperience, the 4th generational Gracie fighter holds the promotional record for most submission wins with six.
In the night’s other title fight, the hotly anticipated cross-promotional rematch between Darion Caldwell (12-2, 1 NC) and Kyoji Horiguchi (27-2) will open the main card.
Caldwell will take the turn of defending his Bellator bantamweight title after a failed attempt at taking Horiguchi’s RIZIN title on December 31st, 2018. Horiguchi emerged victorious with a third-round guillotine submission win in their first meeting and the Japanese fighter will be looking to add another ‘W’ to his ongoing 12-fight winning streak.
Sandwiched in between the two title fights at Bellator 222 will be two other bantamweight fights as former champion Eduardo Dantas (21-6) takes on Juan Archuleta (22-1) and rising star Ricky Bandejas (11-2) faces off against Patrick Mix (10-0).
The main card will also feature a catchweight fight between jiu-jitsu ace Dillon Danis (1-0) and Max Humphrey (3-2) while the co-main event billing goes to a light heavyweight bout between veterans Lyoto Machida (25-8) and Chael Sonnen (30-16-1).
The preliminary card meanwhile boasts some more notable names as Aaron Pico (4-2) looks to get back into the win column against Adam Borics (12-0), Rena Kubota (8-2) steps over from RIZIN take on Lindsey VanZandt (5-1) and Heather Hardy (2-1) returns to MMA in a bout against Taylor Turner (3-5).